Together or Not At All
by robbiepoo2341
Summary: After escaping the Shi'ar, Sying-Varr returns to the X-Men and tries to live a normal life, but his months of being enslaved on Chandilar are still haunting him. For good reason. Meanwhile, Chance Summers and Elin Howlett spread their wings on the junior squad and discover a new drug being marketed for mutants to enhance their powers.
1. Family Resemblance

**Welcome back to the 714 Universe! This is part of a MUCH bigger universe, so please check my profile for the reading order. Specifically, you're going to HAVE to have read "Space Race" to understand this one, because it follows right on the heels of that volume. **

**Anyway, with how rough the last volume was, we figured we'd better start out with some SERIOUS FLUFF...**

* * *

**Chapter 1: "Family Resemblance"**

Rachel and Bobby sent word at the end of July: their little girl had come overnight on their anniversary. It was earlier than expected, so no one had come up yet, though Scott and Annie had been packed to come up for the weekend. Which meant they didn't take long at all to get up there to meet little Ivy Elizabeth, beating the Drakes by a few hours. Since it was summer and there was no need to have anyone running classes, Logan and K came up as well as Hank and Daisy, with the Wagners holding down the fort in Westchester.

When they got there, the little one was already asleep, but that didn't stop an incredibly proud Bobby from waving them in, nor did it stop Willow from attacking her Granny Annie with a huge hug as Annie ended up carrying her on her hip all the way to meet the little girl.

For a blonde, Ivy had a surprising amount of hair; most of the blondes that had come through the family were nearly bald or so light that they looked like it. But Ivy's was a perfect gold color — though that was the only thing that looked like Bobby. Everything else was pure Rachel — or more accurate, purely Rachel's mother.

"Oh, she's gorgeous," Annie said warmly.

"Well, yeah, she looks like Rach," Bobby pointed out.

"Yeah, she does," Scott said, shaking his head to himself. He could already tell that Bobby and Rachel were going to have their hands full with this one, especially with Willow taking so much after her dad.

_Oh come on, Dad, _Rachel projected out to him, and he looked up with a little smile.

_I can't be a protective grandfather all of a sudden? _He shot back.

Rachel shook her head at him. _Just say hello and stop worrying. She's only a few hours old._

_Can't help it._

_I know._

Scott smirked at Rachel for a second before she pushed the sleeping little girl into his arms, and he grinned down at her, sitting down in the chair by Rachel as Annie made sure to wrap Bobby up in a one-armed hug while she still had Willow in the other arm.

Ivy was just starting to wake up a bit when K and Logan poked their head in after Kitty had insisted they take a peek at the new little one. "The pushy girl in front said we had to say hi," Logan said as the two little ferals barely stepped in the door. "So. Hi."

"Come on in," Bobby said with a grin. "Hank's already said he'll swing through when he's done getting _his _grandfather snuggles in."

"Oh, you should see Lacy too," Rachel said with a smirk Logan's way.

"I didn't realize we were gonna get hit from all sides," Logan said, though they didn't step in any further.

"Oh, get over here and hold my granddaughter," Annie said. "If you were so worried, you wouldn't be here."

"I think she's fine where she is," Logan replied.

Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up both of the ferals to bring them over. "Yeah, this isn't a discussion."

"That is cheating," K said with a laugh.

"Yeah? I just spent eight hours in labor. I get to do whatever I want, and I say you get to meet the product of all that work," Rachel replied with one eyebrow perfectly arched.

K shook her head and came over to give Rachel a kiss on the forehead first and foremost. "What? You don't look like you did any work at all."

Rachel grinned at her. "Already heard it from Bobby, but if you ever ditch Logan…" she teased.

"You and I would be adorable," K teased.

"Must be something about redheads with the mutation," Bobby muttered with a smirk.

"Oh, God, no," K said, shaking her head. "I was just _sure _she wasn't insinuating that you'd hold up for any amount of time." She gave Bobby a quick once over. "Snap you like a twig."

Bobby grinned crookedly at her. "Sorry, K, I like the kind of scary that can burn you."

"Okay," Scott said, cutting into the conversation by simply putting Ivy into K's arms. "Stop that."

"Jealous?" K teased with a laugh before she looked down at the little blonde.

"Just don't appreciate hearing that kind of talk about my daughter," Scott muttered.

"It was more against your son-in-law," K corrected as she headed toward Logan.

"Yeah, well, I may just have to hit him again…" Scott said with a smirk Bobby's way that had Bobby icing up one side of his face — just to be on the safe side.

"I know. You're sensitive," K almost cooed. "Grampa's a little cranky, sweetheart."

"He's just like that," Rachel said, though she was sure to project to _both _Bobby and Scott to cut it out.

K brushed the little tufts of golden blonde hair back and had to smile. "She's your doppelganger, Rachel." Logan took a peek over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow but refused to offer any commentary.

"Yeah, she's kind of perfect," Bobby said.

"She's my sister," Willow informed Logan.

"That's usually how it works," Logan agreed as he picked up Willow. "Means you get to teach her everything you know."

Willow beamed at him. "Yeah, that's what Dad said. He said I should teach her how to hide Tristan's shoes and important stuff like that."

He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "But that also means you get to teach her how to pick on your dad too. Don't forget that. It's important."

She giggled and nodded seriously. "Like flushing the toilet when he's in the shower," she whispered back.

He nodded seriously. "Just like that. You're both cute enough you'll get away with it too."

"I'm _beautiful_," she corrected him.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You're _gorgeous_."

She grinned and tapped him on the nose. "Yes, that."

Logan looked over at Scott to give him a significant look as Willow gave him a bear hug, trying to squeeze him as hard as she could.

"Don't," Scott warned.

"I didn't say _a word,_" Logan said as he set Willow down and K slipped the baby to him.

"She's really pretty, right?" Willow said, standing on her toes to try and see too.

Logan took a look at the little carrot top and crouched down so she could see her sister easier. "She is," he agreed. "Did you help name her?"

"Mom and Dad made sure that I got to say yes or no on the names."

"So you did," he said with a smirk. "Nice job."

"Thanks. I like it," Willow said, looking incredibly pleased with herself.

"Alright. Take her back," Logan said when he stood up.

Scott smirked as he scooped the girl out of Logan's arms, though Logan hadn't taken more than a step before Tyler got there too —ostensibly to check on Rachel and Ivy. "How's my second-favorite blonde baby?" he teased, with Hank following behind holding a wriggly little blonde of his own who kept trying to grab his glasses.

"Breaking hearts already," Bobby smirked.

Tyler smirked as he made his way over to quickly check up on both patients, and Hank leaned over to look at the little one in Scott's arms with a smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes. "She looks just like you," he told Rachel.

"Yes, I'm aware," she teased.

Tyler smirked and plucked Lacy out of her grandfather's arms so that Hank could hold Ivy for a little bit — since he clearly wanted to say hello — and stepped back by Logan and K. His little girl halfway leaned out of his arms trying to move around and see all the new people, opening and closing a hand toward K.

"You guys haven't met Lacy yet, right?" Tyler said, shifting her so that she was on his hip and could reach out to touch K's shoulder and start patting away at the flannel with a delighted smile.

"No, we've been pretty tied up," Logan said, frowning as he finally turned toward the two of them. K waved at the little girl with one finger before she reached out and tickled Lacy under the chin, getting the girl to melt into giggles.

"Five and a half months old," Tyler said with a proud grin.

"She's a cutie," K said. "Who's she taking after more?"

"Tammy says she's got me across the eyes, but we think it might be more her side," Tyler said.

Logan couldn't help but shake his head. "She looks like the spittin' image of Clara." He paused when he realized that no one knew what he was talking about. "Clara Creed. Victor's little sister."

Both of Tyler's eyebrows shot up at that. "Really?"

He nodded lightly and held his breath. "Yeah. She really does. Not a bad person to take after, either."

"Huh." Tyler looked down at the little girl. "I know you said I had an aunt, but you didn't tell me she was pretty," he said after a beat, and with a smirk in place.

K was grinning widely. "Oh. Well. You dated, right?" she had to tease as she bumped her hip against Logan's. "He leaves that part out."

Tyler's eyebrows went even higher. "Yeah, he did."

Logan shrugged. "Nothing came out of it," he said with a little frown. "And she was definitely the black sheep of the family. The other brother was a nut job too."

"Well, she's going to take after her great-aunt then," Tyler decided.

Logan nodded. "If she ends up with a talent for training animals, she sure will."

"We'll come down for a summer and spend some time at the barn," Tyler said, smirking to himself. He took a deep breath. "She's got the claws too. I saw them on the scans we did for Tammy."

"She'll be fine," Logan said, waving it off. "All the Creed kids were like that."

"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that Tris didn't have them."

"He took after his mother," Logan reasoned. "This one takes after your side."

Tyler nodded. "Tris is still excited about Lacy's 'new friend'," he said, gesturing to Ivy. "He's a good brother." He finally readjusted his grip on Lacy and pushed her into Logan's arms. "Alright, Lacy, say hi."

Logan barely got a decent hold on the little girl before she grabbed a hold of him by the sideburns and pulled herself forward until she was resting her forehead on his and grinning.

"She's smart," K said, smirking Tyler's way.

"She gets _that _from her mother," Tyler said without missing a beat.

Logan gave Lacy a little look and said "quit". The little girl let go and then snuggled into a hug, obviously ready to settle in for a while.

"Ah, I see you've fallen under my granddaughter's spell too," Hank said with a twinkle in his eye as he came over to see them.

"Is that what this is?" Logan asked and clearly offered for Hank to take over on her.

But Hank grinned at Logan from where he was. "She seems to like you."

"She'd be happier with her grandfather, I'm sure," Logan said.

Hank laughed to himself. "And I'd be happy not to be bald."

"She let go after a second," Logan told him, frowning deeply. "Doesn't she usually do that?"

"Ah, no," Hank said, indicating a patch of hair on his arm that was clearly thinner than the rest.

"The baby whisperer strikes again," K laughed.

"And no one is surprised," Tyler teased.

"Except for him," she replied. "And that's an eternal issue. Never expects it."

"Then I guess we'll be doing this dance til the end of time," Tyler teased her, smiling a bit wider.

"I'll cut you, boy," she said, pointing a finger his way.

"I'll heal," he shot back, the grin widening.

"Not if I work fast," she countered with a growl, purely to rile him.

"And right in front of my little girl? No, you won't," he countered.

She laughed and headed over to put her arm around him. "No. I won't. Just like Rachel and I won't run away together in front of Scott."

"Please," Scott said from across the room without even looking up.

"Oooh, you hear that, Rachel? We have permission!"

Rachel laughed. "Some other time. I'm enjoying my blonde."

K nodded. "I'll just bet you are," she laughed. "That's okay. I wouldn't run off without mine anyhow. Even if he does attract babies."

"It's a gift," Tyler teased her in a low whisper.

"Oh, shut up and take your daughter back," Logan half growled his way.

Tyler smirked at Logan but didn't step toward him. "I'm just saying. Took me and Tammy seven years to get a non-magical one."

"All the more reason for you to hold on to her," Logan said as he started toward Tyler.

Tyler grinned when he realized that Lacy was asleep and gently picked her up to readjust her. "True that," he had to agree.


	2. Overpowered

**Chapter 2: "Overpowered"**

Kurt and Elin were going over a sim that they'd just finished when the call came in about a mutant in trouble with uncontrollable powers, surging in a way that the young person simply couldn't handle.

Kurt didn't have to say a word before Elin redirected to the locker room to change, knowing that Kurt would find Chance — eventually. And while he was gone, she wanted to hurry up and get dressed.

Of course, it did take Kurt a bit to find Chance, simply because he didn't know where Chance and Krissy had disappeared to that day. When he did find the two of them sitting on a bench in the garden and kissing, though, he took no small pleasure in teleporting right in front of them.

"Chance, we have a mission," he told the young man before the smoke had even cleared, startling him so that both Krissy and Chance turned bright red — or purple, in Krissy's case.

"We — oh, right. Got it. Okay," Chance said, his eyes widening for a second before he grinned and kissed Krissy again. "Be back."

"Kick butt and take names for me," Krissy sang out with a giggle before she disappeared in a poof of purple and Chance had to leg it to the locker room to get changed.

Which meant that by the time he got there, Elin was already dressed and ready to go.

"Are we taking the plane?" she asked, not yet turning to see who else was going.

"Oh, I don't know," Chance admitted as he rushed to get his uniform out.

"See you in the hangar then," she said as she turned to zip out. "Probably."

He shook his head at her and changed as quickly as he could before he rushed to catch up, though even when he was trying to keep up with Elin, he couldn't help but grin to himself — since, after all, this was his first mission on the team.

Kurt was, indeed, waiting in the hangar, but he was waiting for Chance before they loaded up. "This is pretty simple," he told them. "We need to find the out of control mutant and get them away from the general public."

"Okay," Chance said with a nod. "Got it."

Elin took a seat behind Kurt, who was piloting, and simply buckled in, leaving the copilot open for Chance. He shot her a grin and sat down beside Kurt, trying and failing to get a handle on his grin. "So do we know this kid's powers or anything? Who they are?"

"It's a young lady that is unable to control her pyrotechnic ability," Kurt replied. "They are flaring, and she hasn't been able to rein them in properly. Apparently her panic is only making it worse."

He nodded. "Alright. So what's the plan? You and I can't get close until we turn off the powers," he reasoned.

"None of us should get close until we turn on an inhibitor field," Kurt corrected. "Then it should be a simple matter of getting her to calm down. Hopefully that will be enough to get her to re-set without bringing a collar into the mix."

Chance nodded. "So we're on welcoming committee duty."

"Exactly," Kurt said with a nod.

At that, Chance grinned at him. "Great. I've had practice playing tour guide."

"Plan B is I crack her in the face, right?" Elin asked, passively looking out the windows.

"Let's put that a little lower than Plan B," Kurt said with a smirk.

"Plan … if the crowd is too unruly and we have to get a move on?" she suggested.

Kurt chuckled. "Yes, that."

She nodded to herself and settled in again, trying to keep out of it, particularly since she knew it was Chance's first mission. She wanted him to have a good experience the first time out and couldn't help but feel like she should let him have a chance to speak up.

When they got to where the young woman was standing in the center of a large ball of fire, Kurt set up the dampening field, and Chance was all set to go talk to the girl — until she simply bolted.

"Oh, okay," Chance muttered before he took off running after her too, though he had to call out to Elin to help — since a lot of the streets had been burned by the fire, and there were places he simply _couldn't _go.

She ran up behind him, quick to take over the chase and not shying back from the heat where things were still burning. "Does this qualify as my plan yet? Because I kind of want to hit someone when they take off like that."

Kurt chuckled over the comms. "If she won't talk or her powers flare again, yes."

Elin looked over her shoulder at Chance, who was still keeping up pretty well in spite of the nasty torched spots. "Okay, I've got Sweet Summers to talk to her. I'll just … try to _not _look like I'd rather punch her in the face."

"Maybe you should turn around," Chance teased.

"Why? Don't like following me?"

"Well, if she sees the look you got on, I mean ... just face the other way…" he teased.

She slowed just enough to give him a smirk over her shoulder. "Am I that scary?"

"Oh, for sure," Chance said, nodding seriously.

She looked forward again and slowed further, looking a little deeper down the alleys and frowning to herself with her nose wrinkled up. "I shouldn't be able to smell anything but ash with this much torched wood," she muttered to herself.

"You got something, El?" Chance called out when he saw her pause.

"It's weird," she told him. "And strong."

He raised an eyebrow and reached for his energy guns just to be safe. "Never smelled it before?"

She started stalking forward, following the scent. "Not exactly. Close to it, but it doesn't fit."

"And it's not just the girl," he surmised.

"No, she smells like copper, plastic, and charcoal — which makes sense. This … is _almost _like hot wires." She gave him a look. "I know what you're thinking, but it's not part of the fire."

"Could it be mechanical?" he asked. "Some kinda gun or something?"

"I don't know," she said, frowning deeper. "It seems weird that a kid that can't control themselves would have access to anything like that … and it's right down the middle of the street, so it can't be something that got singed."

"Huh." He nodded quietly. "Alright. I got your back. Let's see what's up."

The further they went, the stronger the scent got to Elin, though it was clear that Chance simply didn't smell it at all, even though he was sure he was trying to. And the closer they got, the more she tensed up and seemed to stalk more fluidly until she finally caught sight of the girl and froze, mid-step, her gaze locked onto her as she watched her.

She had a fire dancing in the palm of her hand — and her back was to them. When she turned slightly, she was smiling with a look on her face that looked somewhere between entertainment and sheer disbelief.

"You're up, Chance," Elin said quietly, though she didn't move. "I'm not turning around either. I don't trust that look."

He smirked her way for a second and said in a low whisper, "Thanks, El. Nice to know you got my back too," before he turned toward the girl with a wide smile. "Hey. I'm Chance; this is Elin. I kinda think your powers are awesome, but then, I'm a fan of pyrotechnics myself."

The girl's smile seemed to turn more manic, though her gaze was on the fire in her hand, and when she didn't respond, Chance cleared his throat and tried again.

"C'mon. You've heard of the X-Men, right? We're here to hel-"

Before he could finish the sentence, the fire in the girl's hand grew into a huge ball of flames that rapidly expanded until it was filling up the street. Elin made a hard lunge for Chance, flat out tackling him before she half curled around his upper half — since he had no cover for his head. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed out as the flames started to really amp up around them. "Do you _ever _stop flirting?"

"I _wasn't_," he shot back, though it was slightly muffled by the ground.

"Oh my God, you so were," she replied. "Be ready to get around that building."

"Just say the word."

The instant the flames died out, she shouted for him to go as she ran right for the girl, closing the distance fast. He had just ducked around the corner of the building when he heard a crack echo the street, and Elin hit her comm as she took a moment to catch her breath with her hands on her knees. "I'm not so sure this collar is any good now," Elin said to Kurt before relaying where they were exactly. "It … kind of got in the flames."

Kurt appeared close by and then raised his eyebrows when he saw the unconscious girl by Elin. "So, Plan… what was it? C?" he teased.

She turned to show him her back, where the scorch marks had melted large sections of her uniform and the skin was an angry red even as it healed. "Plan she _asked _for it."

"She kind of did," Chance said as he peeked out from around the building.

"He did everything right and this whackadoodle just … tried to torch us," Elin said, barely restraining from kicking the girl. She frowned after she helped Kurt get the backup collar on her right. "She _stinks._"

"Elin said she smelled like burned wires," Chance said. "She's not carrying, is she?"

Kurt frowned and bent down to check, but almost at that moment, he heard a young man shout, "Keep your hands to yourself!" The boy that stepped around the corner looked just like the young woman in the collar, his hands in fists and enlarged to inhuman proportions.

Elin was growling before she realized it and standing in a crouched position in front of the prone girl and Kurt both.

"That's my sister," the kid said, glaring as he strode forward. "Let her go."

"She tried to kill us when we talked to her," Elin replied.

The kid glared at her. "Well if you were pawing at her, looks like she had good reason."

"Oh no he didn't," she muttered under her breath. "We were talking — _talking._"

"Yeah? Then what's with the collar? Why's she knocked out?"

Kurt caught the full shift in Elin before even Chance did. "Why don't you come on over and I'll tell you _all _about it," Elin said, standing up straight and tipping her chin up.

The kid glared at her as he stalked his way over. "Get that thing off her," he demanded.

She leaned forward and took a deep sniff — not even concerned with whatever his reaction was. "Why do you smell like burnt plastic?" She looked him up and down with a deepening scowl. "All natural fibers … but you smell like plastic."

The kid suddenly stopped. "What is this, twenty questions?"

"Why won't you answer any of them?" Elin asked. "You know who we are. And you should know we don't hurt anyone."

"Tell that to my sister."

"I did — right after she tried to torch me, and right before I broke her jaw."

Chance gestured at the state of his and Elin's uniforms. "Come on. You really want to say we didn't need to stop her?"

"Why was she burning so much?" Kurt asked. "Either she can't control it or she doesn't want to, and neither option is acceptable, as I'm sure you know."

The kid shook his head. "She's getting stronger," he said carefully.

"And acting out of control," Kurt said. "There isn't much time before the MRD shows up, so which would you prefer?"

The kid took a deep breath. "Fine. But I'm coming with you. She's my sister."

Kurt nodded once. "Wonderful. Please, turn out your pockets. We have a tight policy on weapons and drugs."

"Oh, I…"

"What's the problem?" Elin asked.

The kid hedged and then simply took off running — though that wasn't a good idea at all when Kurt had had enough of him and simply teleported into his path to stop him by grabbing him by the shirt. The kid let out a sort of 'ack' as Kurt appeared, grinning, in the smoke and simply teleported back to where the other two were with the young man.

Meanwhile, Elin and Chance had gotten the girl up and between them to head back to the jet, so when Kurt reappeared, he simply nodded at them both and teleported straight to the jet with the young man, buckling him into the seat and pulling out his pockets with a terrifying demonic look that seemed to have the kid stymied.

When he found the small plastic bag of a blueish powder, he raised both of his eyebrows. "And what is this?"

"Not yours," the boy said, though when Kurt pulled back his lips into a near snarl, he amended: "It's called boost."

"And it does what exactly?"

The young man held his breath. "It's just… what it says. It gives your powers a boost."

Kurt frowned at that, then made sure that the kid was tightly secure. "And your sister was using this, I presume."

"She must have taken too much—"

Kurt held up a hand and shook his head. He really didn't want to hear the excuse. "I get it."

Elin and Chance made it back to the jet quickly enough, and Elin buckled the girl in across the aisle and in the opposite window as her brother before she headed to the back of the jet and took out a flannel shirt that her mother had there to cover her ruined uniform before she took the seat between the two siblings. "Don't worry," she said toward Kurt. "If either of them is stupid, I'll deal with it."

Chance leaned over in the copilot spot and grinned her way. "Scary," he mouthed out her way.

"Flirt," she mouthed back.

He grinned even wider and shrugged. "If you say so," he whispered back.

"I don't have to say so. _Look _at yourself," she whispered back.

He looked down at his uniform and back up at Elin. "Are you trying to say something about me being burned?" he teased quietly.

"I'm saying you flirt like you breathe," she replied. "Constant and loud. But I'm only asking you to ease up on one of them."

"Must be good at it then, if it's that natural," he said in a totally unconcerned tone. "And you know I only _mean _it with Krissy."

"Yep, but it's disrespectful to do it to anyone else if you only mean it for her," Elin pointed out. "And irritating."

He let out a breath. "I mean, I only _mean _to flirt with Krissy. Everything else? I'm just trying to be nice."

"Then just be nice," Elin said. "You don't _need _to flirt."

He shrugged. "I don't mean to. Where's the line between being nice and making conversation and flirting? Because it seems to move."

"Forget it," she said, turning to look out the window.

The rest of the flight back was relatively quiet as they made their way back to Westchester and brought the brother and sister duo to Hank's lab. "Henry, if you wouldn't mind," Kurt said as he leaned over to drop the bag he had confiscated onto his desk. "This young man here is carrying something he calls 'boost.' I'd like to know what it does, beyond turning his sister into a walking fireball."

"And you're certain that this is the substance she was taking?" Hank asked as he pulled out a blood draw kit.

"I doubt he had the wherewithal to lie to me," Kurt said with a small smirk.

Hank nodded as Elin crossed her arms, frowning at the little package on his desk. "It doesn't smell the same as her," Elin said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow and turned toward the young man, who quickly raised both hands. "I swear, that's the stuff."

She frowned at him and narrowed her eyes at the bag again. "Is it normal for something to change that much in scent when it's being used?" she asked, obviously to Hank, though the doctor was frowning at her.

"It really doesn't smell like much to me," Hank told her. "A little something in addition to what I assume is her scent — but nothing marked." He turned her way with a little smile. "You'll have to tell me about it once our new friends here move on to greener pastures."

"If you would," Kurt said with a nod, "I really just want to know if we're going to have to deal with any other reactions — with either of them."

"I'm working on it as we speak," Hank assured him, diving into the chemistry of it and running the samples from both new kids through the machinery. Finally, after he'd thoroughly gone over all of the samples, he let out a long breath.

"It appears the compound is composed of several highly addictive substances in addition to a little mutant growth hormone." He gave Kurt a significant look as he began to type his results into the computer.

Kurt raised both eyebrows at that and gave Hank a short nod before he had a couple of the bamfs teleport the new kids someplace secure. "We haven't seen that in a while," he told Hank with a frown once the two kids were gone.

Elin and Chance shared a look, but neither of them said a word as the two senior members were reluctant to crack open that can of worms yet.

But finally, Chance seemed to be unable to wait any longer. "So, what is it?" he asked. "I mean, if you've seen it before, how do we deal with it? Come on, I'll look it up if you want me to put in the research."

Hank let out a sigh when it was clear that Kurt was waiting for the doctor in charge to cover the chemical explanation. He thought over his answer carefully before he spoke. "You are aware of how most drugs react in the human body, yes?" When both kids nodded, he continued. "There are several substances that humans and mutants alike have created for the specific purpose of either enhancing mutant abilities or endowing those without the crucial X-gene with enough Mgh to act as an X-gene. This … appears to be some sort of hybrid of a couple of those." He shook his head and went back to the screen. "I'll need to do further testing to see what its intent is and, of course, what exactly it's derived from," Hank said distractedly, looking into the drug already.

"So… it's literally what it says," Chance reasoned. "It's a 'boost.'"

"That's what they're trying to market, it seems," Hank agreed, but Elin was frowning deeper at the little bag.

"And it's addictive, too. How charming," she said with her lip curled back a touch.

"Was it before?" Chance asked.

"Only by virtue that they enjoyed the effects of the drug," Hank told him. "This is different."

"It stinks," Elin said quietly. "She had a scent mixed with her own — and it shouldn't have been there. It was like hot electrical wires before a fire, but that—" she jabbed a finger toward the envelope. "Just smells like plastic."

"That's got to be what she was using though, right? I mean, she melted half a block," Chance said.

"She most definitely was using it," Hank replied. "Though it looks as though there is a fundamental breakdown as the body burns through it — which is likely why it's got some addictive properties."

"They would need to keep coming back to maintain their powers in addition to the cravings," Kurt murmured.

"So what are you going to do with them?" Elin asked, obviously ready to move on to anything else.

Kurt let out a breath. "I'll talk to Scott, but I doubt they'll be staying here." He smirked as he rested a hand on Elin's shoulder. "This is a school for the best of the best, and they are not it." He shook his head. "We'll wait until the drug is out of her system, so we can be sure there are no emergencies requiring our attention. And then, we'll make our plans."


	3. Some Wounds Still Haven't Healed

**Chapter 3: "Some Wounds Still Haven't Healed"**

The new semester was only a week away from starting, so the new round of students was starting to trickle in. In particular, Sying had come in that weekend, and the first thing he did was make a beeline to where Elin was to give her a warm hug.

"It's so weird that we're trading places," Elin told him as she snuggled in.

"You'll love it there," Sying promised. "Mom and Dad are so excited to have you."

"I know; your mom was already outlining the shopping trips she expects to take right away," Elin said with a laugh. "Apparently, what I have isn't fit for California."

"It's not," Sying said with a smile. "And I know you're not a big fan of the water, but you should make sure you visit the tidal pools with Ael. They're _still _his favorite, even though he's older now."

"I … will think about it," she said hesitantly. "I really don't like the ocean, and honestly, that beach in particular."

Sying nodded and squeezed her a bit harder. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Storm promised to keep me busy, though," she said, nodding to herself. "So it'll be fine. Probably won't have time to go to the beach at all."

"Well, that's good, but I hope you're not _too _busy," Sying said. "I was sort of thinking of visiting. A lot." He smiled sheepishly. "Kind of attached to my favorite aunt."

"I'm sure you'll visit home plenty, and you know I'll be back for team practices and practices with Dad and, you know, riding with mom when I really need it."

"Try to 'need' it often," he said with a smirk before he gave her another squeeze. "I'm taking riding this year too. Mom suggested it."

"You'll love it," she promised. "She likes to play games on horseback once it's clear everyone needs to lighten up. Then, if the class is good enough, she'll let you shoot arrows on horseback, too."

He smiled wider at that. "That sounds fun. I'm sure Kate loves it."

"She's not usually invited … just to rile her."

Sying smirked at that and then rested his arm around her shoulders. "I have to warn you that the twins are going to tackle you when you get there."

"I kinda figured they'd lose out to your mom," Elin teased before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Keep mom and dad out of trouble, huh?"

He smirked. "Like I can do that. I mean, I can try, but let's be honest, here."

"You'll have help," she promised. "You're going to have a great year, and I might even be back in January if I get Storm's course finished."

"That would be _great_," Sying breathed out. "I mean, I love our friends and all, but with you and James _both _gone, I am the king of the third wheel over here." He smirked. "You're the queen, I know."

"Well … there are a few other kids around here, you know. You can always make friends instead of being stuck with the flirt monsters."

He shrugged lightly. "I'll be honest: this isn't the best semester to try making new friends for me. I was really hoping to just take it easy and focus on getting on the team."

"Let them come to you, then," Elin said. "You're cute. They'll find you."

He grinned and ruffled his own hair. "Yeah, that much is true. I _am _cute."

"You can message me anytime, you know," she told him as she picked up her bag. "I'll answer."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Favorite aunt."

"Like you have many options."

"Well, technically, you have two sisters and Kitty…" He paused. "And technically, I have a Kree aunt. Sort of."

"Well, you've known me longest."

"True. And I like hanging out with you best." He grinned sheepishly. "Don't get me wrong. I like Malin and Sadie and all, but…"

"Oh, James is already not looking forward to Kitty's 'so cute' rants," Elin told him with a grin. "So you know ... if you want to listen to someone complaining … he'll be doing a lot of that, I'm sure."

Sying smirked. "It might be nice to hear about someone else having issues for a change."

She gave him a little wave and headed off to grab her last bag and meet up with her brother before they headed out with Logan. She was ready to get going, and James was, of course, waiting and looking bored when she got to him.

"Can't wait to run off, huh?" James teased.

"Shut up," Elin said, shoving him sideways. "Not like you have room. Hiding out by Kitty."

"Like I've enjoyed being ditched so hard either," James replied quietly, rolling his eyes.

"_There _you are!" Krissy called out halfway through a telltale _bamf _as she and Chance appeared.

"Oh, hi," Elin said, shouldering the bag at her feet.

Krissy simply teleported over to wrap her up in a hug. "Were you planning on leaving without saying goodbye? You _goon_!"

"I'll be back in a couple weeks for practice," she defended. "And I'm sure you were busy."

"Still!" Krissy shook her head and snuggled into Elin with a grin as Elin and James shared a look over Krissy's shoulder. "You're moving across the country. That's cause for hugs."

"You're making a big deal out of this," Elin accused, though she did return the hug.

"Have you _met _me?" Krissy shot back.

Elin rolled her eyes. "Yes. I know. Drama teacher's daughter. Part demon. Yeah, yeah."

Krissy grinned and hugged her one more time and then stepped back a second before Chance rushed over to pick her up in a spinning hug and then press a book into her hands. "Believe it or not, it's not from Charlie. She got me on Westerns, and I think you'll like this one."

She frowned at the book and shook her head. "Thanks. I'm sure it'll be a good one if you both gave it the green light, but honestly, you're not even going to know we're gone."

"Seriously?" Chance shook his head. "Come on. I think we'll both miss our best friends. Come _on_."

She returned his hug quickly and then pointed a finger his way. "The drama is wearing off on you."

"I think I just came this way, and she makes it worse," he teased.

"Same thing," Elin countered. "I don't have anything for you guys. Not really." She shrugged and looked over to Krissy. "Of course … help yourself to the dresses."

"Just promise to come visit, and we'll be totally satisfied."

"If I'm going to stay on the team, it's mandatory," she pointed out.

"Not the same as _visiting_," Krissy pointed out. "I need ice cream with my best friend, or I'll _die_."

"You will _not_," Elin said. "And you're going to make me keep track of how long it takes for you to utterly forget I'm gone."

"I give 'em both, oh … a month. Tops," James said from where he was still sitting and reading his book.

"Oh please," Krissy said. "You're leaving me behind with all the _boys_. I mean, no offense, Chance, but I need a girlfriend every once in a while."

"So, you'll be perfectly happy then," James said easily.

Krissy rolled her eyes at him before she teleported over to hug him too. "Don't think I forgot about you. I'll miss you too, Purple Hair."

"You did forget, but I'm used to it. It's fine."

"Self-defense won't be the same without you _at all_," Chance said as he came James' way to give him a hug too.

"You'll like it better," James replied. "And you'll have Sying to work with."

"Yeah, I'll have Sying, but come on, James. He's not as funny."

"He might surprise you," James defended. "He's got some good ones when he's in a stride."

"Still, he'd have to work hard to catch up. We've had some great zingers in class."

"I'll see you at break," James told him.

Chance nodded and hugged him again. "See ya soon."

* * *

Elin and James had just headed off with their dad a few hours earlier when Kurt was surprised after wrestling Kade into a nap to find Krissy waiting for him outside Kade's room with her tail twitching a bit behind her. "I think there's something wrong with Elin and James," she said without preamble.

"Oh?" Kurt said, watching her for a moment before he gestured for her to follow him to a slightly quieter spot. "What makes you say that?"

She let out a long sigh. "They keep saying we're going to forget them now that they're gone. Like I could _ever _forget my best friend!"

"Ah." He nodded and drew in a deep breath. "They are just like that sometimes. They'll get over it eventually."

Krissy folded her arms. "I don't think so. I think something's wrong."

"That's entirely likely," he agreed. "But they'll never talk. Not unless it's their idea."

She tipped her head back and let out a sigh. "I don't like this. I don't like that my best friend thinks that she's not the most amazing friend _ever_."

"How long has she been doing this?" Kurt asked.

Krissy frowned. "A while," she said as she thought about it. "I mean, just now when she was leaving, yeah, but… a while."

"Usually, if you can figure out when it starts, you can figure out what the trouble is."

She nodded thoughtfully. "It just feels like it's been the whole year."

"Then," Kurt said, trying to help as much as he was able, "it will be harder to remember when it started."

She nodded. "There was a lot going on in the last year. Cody and Kari and James all got powers, and me and Chance started dating, and … and then there was everything with Sying…" She let out a sigh. "Plus, there was all that stuff with Jana. They didn't talk to _anyone _after that."

Kurt watched her with a smirk, waiting for her to process it all.

Krissy finally picked up her head from where it was tipped back as she thought. "You think that's it?" she asked.

"Which part?" Kurt asked.

Krissy sighed. "All of it. I mean… that's a lot…. But I guess it started with getting kidnapped, which… I get. I didn't like getting kidnapped when my grandfather did it."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Kurt asked. "There isn't much you can do from here, after all, when they've both decided to run away."

"Well, what _can _I do?" she asked.

Kurt leaned forward. "What do you _want _to do?"

"I _want _to tell Elin that I love her and that she's my favorite person in the world, but she doesn't _listen_ when I say it."

Kurt shook his head at her. "No. No one in that family does. You have to _show_ them."

"How?" Krissy wrinkled her nose. "She _avoids _me."

"That's what you need to figure out," Kurt told her before he wrapped her up in a hug and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

_Elin - _

_You've only been gone a day but I miss you already. It's quieter somehow without you even though you're quiet. I don't know if that makes sense._

_Sying is excited to start classes, but the best part of today was when he realized that the ship Chance was working on was for him. He was totally speechless. _

_Worst part was that you left before you could see him grinning all day. _

_Anyway, I don't really have much to say, just wanted to let you know I already miss you. _

_Love you,_

_~Krissy_

* * *

Sying was down in the hangar sitting on the ship that Chance had been working on all summer. He wasn't working on it right then — just sitting with it so that it could get used to being around him, with his feet kicked up behind him and music playing in his ears.

He knew if he wanted the right bond with the ship that he needed to put in the effort, but after half an hour, he gave up. He didn't want the ship to pick up on the fact that he wasn't sure how to feel about a new ship. It just wasn't the one he'd grown up with.

He let out a sigh and slid off the top of the ship and patted her side. "I'll see if I can come up with a more upbeat playlist," he said, patting the ship one more time before he headed up and grabbed some Twizzlers while he was at it.

He passed Scott on the way up to his room, and Scott paused when he saw the Twizzlers. "You alright?"

"Fuel," Sying said with a shrug, waving one of the Twizzlers around in a circle.

"Sure you wouldn't rather have some Sugar Bombs?" Scott had to tease.

Sying shrugged. "I'm not that hungry," he admitted.

Scott raised his eyebrows at that. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Sying nodded again. "It's just been a slow day. I thought I'd spend some time with the ship, but I think I'd rather just work on a new playlist. Something a little more upbeat."

"What for?" Scott asked as he walked with the young man.

"I want to make sure if I bond with the ship, it's the right way," he explained. "And all the ships are a little melancholy after losing their sister, so I want to make sure it's a little brighter."

Scott watched him for a moment with a frown. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How are you doing since losing the _Wonder_?"

Sying glanced up at Scott and then let out a small breath. "I miss my ship," he admitted.

"I know," Scott said, nodding along.

Sying spun the Twizzler around in a circle again before he took a bite out of it and shook his head. "I'll have to put a lot of work into a new one, and it's a lot of emotional work as well with this kind of psionic tech."

"I'm sure," Scott said. He put a hand on Sying's shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. "Listen, I know it's yours now, but if you're not ready to get a new ship, I know for a fact Chance will take care of it until you are."

"Maybe," Sying said. "I'll see if the playlist helps first, though. I do miss working on the ship. It's nice to be able to have something to do with my hands."

"Well, if you don't want to work on a psionic ship, you could work on the bird with me," Scott said.

Sying stopped and turned Scott's way with both eyebrows high. "Really?"

"I know you know your way around it," Scott said. "And it could use some attention at the start of the semester anyway when it's a little busy around here for me," he added with a smirk.

Sying nodded with a slow sort of smile. "Yeah, that would be fun."

"Just tell me if you're going to work on anything more than a tuneup, alright?"

Sying nodded and grinned outright. "Can do," he promised.

* * *

Things were a little bit less intense for the Howletts — at least when it came to being face-to-face with the daily troubles their oldest were facing anyhow. And although they heard from both James and Elin frequently, even from the first day, they still didn't have as much constant involvement as the others with their kids of similar age. Though Sadie and Malin were more than happy to try and make up the difference.

Malin's way of helping was to climb up on Kate's lap when she was holding Kade and snuggle her way in so that he had no choice but to move over and share. Which lasted about two minutes before she abandoned them both and headed out for other things to get into.

"She maked me share," Kade grumbled, curling back into Kate with his tail around her wrist.

"Does that make you mad?" K asked, watching him with her head propped up by one hand.

"I like snuggling, but I don't _like _sharing," Kade grumbled.

"No snuggle sharing?"

He shook his head.

"She can't help it," K said, shrugging. "You're adorable."

"I don't want to be adorable. I want to not have to share."

"This is the spoiled one, Kate … you're going to need to adopt now."

Kate laughed. "Oh no. Don't start, because Kurt will _listen _to you, and four elflings is my _limit_."

"It's a good argument!" K said. "And … it would be stopped at four _elflings._ Plenty of room for little cuties of other adorable classifications."

"Are you kidding?"

"No," K almost purred out, grinning at her. "Not even a little bit."

"I've already got my hands full with this one," Kate pointed out, gently lifting Kade's arm to show off the purple bandage there — and the ones on his elbow.

"What makes you think you'd end up with another Hawkeye?"

"I'm just saying: at _least _hold off until this one stops running for president of the Hank McCoy Unwilling Fan Club."

"I'm not gonna lie: I have a typed out anonymous suggestion ready to slip under his office door."

"Of course you do."

"You're just such a good mama hawk," K told her. "Natasha agrees, too — by the way."

"Natasha wants another hawk to play with but doesn't want to put in the work," Kate replied without missing a beat. "And unlike _some _of us, she ages slow enough she still _can_."

"Which is why I'm suggesting the other option," K said.

"Don't take her side, K; it's unbecoming."

"It's way more becoming than the not-so-subtle hints that other people have been dropping."

"K, four is my max, alright?" Kate said, shaking her head. "I have a daughter dating a Summers and another one dropping smoke bombs on _top _of her own smoke…"

"But," K said draping herself halfway across the table so that she knew she was speaking in a language dramatic enough for Kate to understand. "You're _Ca-a-atholic._"

"Yes, well spotted. I'm also in my forties now."

"I'm well beyond that, big sis. _Still_."

"Tell you what," Kate said, shaking her head. "_If _I ever think about it, you'll be the first to know."

"Second," she corrected. "Kurt needs to be first. So it _happens_."

"Kurt is probably already thinking it, and you know it. The man loves babies, and all the littlest are in Chicago or with the Avengers," Kate sighed.

"He does. He really does," she agreed. "It's adorable, don't you think?"

'I mean, I clearly do. But still."

Malin came back over to Kate and Kade right about that time and tapped him on the knee to get his attention. When he looked at her with a quiet frown, she cheerfully pushed his favorite toy car at him with a little, "Here you go," before turning and skipping away.

"Wasn't that sweet, Kade?" Kate asked, smirking at the little boy.

He nodded a bit. "Uh-huh."

"Aren't you going to say thank you?"

"No."

"Why?" Kate asked with a frown. "That's good manners."

"Well, she went away," Kade said perfectly reasonably.

Kate shook her head at the little boy and moved to set him down, but he wrapped his tail around her arm tighter with a muttered "no" and snuggled into her harder. "Oh, okay, I guess it's naptime."

"No!"

"Well, if you're so tired…"

"No! I'm not tired!" Kade insisted, shaking his head hard before he all but flung himself away from Kate, and Kate had to catch him by the tail before he could hit his head on the ground. He started giggling madly as Kate righted him and then was off like a shot, toy car in hand, complete with "vroom vroom" noises.

"I swear to you, K, four of them. On the ceiling. I love them, but they're going to turn me into _Scott, _all white hair and heart problems."

"Oh, then you better put a full stop on right now. I won't be able to play with you at all if you do that."

"See? Now she speaks sense."

"Well, I have to try to get others to do this thing since I will never, ever, ever, ever hear the end of it myself."

"Well, you could always lean on Tyler," she teased. "Since he has that problem, and he's _Mormon_. Almost as bad as Catholic."

"He … yeah. This is true, but you know they'd probably have a dozen if they could get things to move a little quicker."

"Also true. A dozen little blondes running around like mad people."

"He just about fell over when Logan told him his little girl looks like his aunt. It was beautiful."

"I didn't know Ty had an aunt."

"Not just _any _aunt. An aunt Logan screwed around with forever ago," K said, still giggling about it. "Might still be alive. No one knows."

"I… don't even know where to _start _with that one," Kate said, shaking her head with a little laugh.

K started laughing outright. "I know, right? He is so generous when he gives me this much material."

"The way our luck runs, you know she'll show up right around the same time Lacy starts to _really _look like her… there'll be two of them running around…" Kate giggled.

"Well, according to Logan, that would be a good thing," she said. "Apparently, she's nothing like her brother_s._" K lifted her cup Kate's way. "Think about that for a minute. There were four of _them. _Their poor mother."

"Oh. That… that is just _horrible_." Kate wrinkled her nose and leaned back. "Claws are worse than tails. Every time."

"Lies. They're darling with claws. It's the blonde I'd worry about."

"And when working in concert…"

"Oh. Blonde and claws … dreadful. Just dreadful."

Kate laughed and leaned over to rest her head on K's shoulder before she gave her a troublemaking look and waggled her eyebrows. "Only on you, my friend."

"You're right. Blonde is so not my look."

"And you should never, ever wear it again," Kate agreed, snuggling in a little more.

"You hated it that much, did you?" she asked, tipping her head so she was resting against Kate's.

"I really did. I really, really did."

"Was it because I didn't look enough like me?"

"That and it was like a big ol' sign saying 'I may leave again,' and I had to get shot and also captured by Weapon X to get you back the first time, so I didn't want to do it again."

"Alright, alright. I won't go blonde this week," she promised.

Kate smiled and snuggled in a little more. "You're so wonderful to me," she teased.

"And I ask so little in return," K told her.

"Just the occasional snuggle and adopted child to play with," Kate smirked.

"With this crew, there will be plenty of them running back and forth, I'm sure."

"Oh, easily," Kate agreed.

"It's just making the guys wait it out that is troublesome."

"Neither of ours have any patience. At all."

Malin returned again and climbed up to work her way between Kate and K, though she was sure to kiss Kate's nose and tell her 'pretty' as she settled in.

Kate just grinned and booped Malin's nose in return. "Oh, you are too cute for my own good."


	4. In a Rush

**Chapter 4: "In a Rush"**

Krissy and Chance were up on the roof again, their homework long since completed and put away, after a busy day at school. Both of them had to be inside by ten o'clock, but until then, they were content to sit out in the early fall weather and watch the stars come up, their hands tucked behind their heads as they talked.

"You could join the team now, you know," Chance said after a long stretch of silence, and Krissy rolled her eyes as she turned toward him.

"That's all you ever think about," she teased him.

He shook his head with a smile. "That's not true. Sometimes I think about kicking your butt at video games."

She rolled her eyes again but scooted a little closer to him anyway so that she could shift to be holding his hand while they sat out on the roof together. Her eyes were dancing with trouble as she leaned over to rest her chin on his shoulder. "Is that _all_?" she teased.

He looked her way, and even just turning his head, the two of them were nearly nose to nose. She watched the slow grin spread over his face as her heart flip flopped in her stomach. She really did think he was the cutest guy she'd ever met, and when he smiled, it was even better. And she still couldn't believe he was dating her.

He leaned in and kissed her. It was a little longer than all the other kisses before, because they had been dating for so long now. Every kiss was just a little bit longer and a little bit more involved, a little more fun.

When the kiss broke, both of them were grinning, and Chance stole one more, shorter, kiss before he leaned back to rest his head against his arm again, still holding her hand with one of his. "Well," he said. "I also think about that."

Krissy flushed a deeper purple color than her usual hue; she couldn't help it. "You're a flirt, Chance Summers."

"I've been told that a lot recently, you know that?"

"Well, it's true," she said. She gave his hand a squeeze before she couldn't help but tease him. "Who have you been flirting with?"

"No one on purpose," he defended, which only got a wider smile out of Krissy, because she knew, of course, that Chance flirted almost instinctively, like it was built into his personality.

"Oh, I'm not jealous," she promised.

Chance shook his head with a laugh and kissed her cheek. "It's just Elin was giving me a hard time when we went on that mission. She seems to think I was trying to flirt with the girl we picked up as a means of talking her into coming with us."

"Did it work?"

"Ah, no — and I _wasn't_," Chance insisted, looking a bit pink at the cheeks and tips of his ears.

"Oh, of course not," she said soothingly, though it was obvious she didn't believe him in the least.

Chance let out a scoffing noise and rolled his eyes her way, which had her grinning wider. "I wasn't, Kris."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Chance, you are a sweetheart," she told him. "You know that, right?"

"Just how I was raised," he said with a small smile.

"Well, I like it," she replied, matching his smile with one of her own.

"I'd hope so, considering you're dating me," he had to tease.

She grinned wider at that before she leaned over and pulled him into a longer kiss this time.

* * *

K had just finished doing the chores in the barn when she headed back up to the house. She was getting ready to head out and grab Elin, since the first practice was the next day. When she got to the hangar and through the first half of the preflight checklist, she had to stop and listen — because she was sure there was music playing softly in the hangar.

She turned and scanned the hangar, looking for anything that might give away a hidden student, but when that yielded no results, she walked to the center of the room and paused, listening to see where the hell it was coming from. She knew she wasn't hearing things. She closed her eyes and tipped her head to the side — hoping to catch a direction — and had to frown when she realized the direction was up.

She looked straight up to see Sying hiding out on the ceiling with his headphones in. "I spy … something sparkly and coated in maple sugar," K called out loud enough that she knew he'd hear her even with the headphones in.

Sying paused and took one of the headphones out to look up (or down) at her. "Oh, hi, Grammy K." He waved her way.

She gave him a warm smile. "What are you up to — aside from dancing on the ceiling?"

"That's it — just dancing on the ceiling," he said with a shrug.

"How sad," she said, matching his shrug. "I don't suppose you'd like to take a ride with me to get Elin, would you?"

He raised his eyebrows and then dropped down from the ceiling to land on his feet — and then zipped over to hug her. "Yes, please."

She nodded and gestured to the plane. "Finish the preflight while I call Logan?"

He smiled at that and nodded again, speeding off to do just that, with the music still playing in one earbud.

The call was quick, and in short order, the two of them were headed out. "So. What kind of excuse do you need to hide on the ceiling?"

"Not an excuse," Sying said. "I just know no one looks up there, and I wanted a little quiet."

"You know where I like to go when I want quiet?" K asked as they flew west. "I stacked the hay bales so there is a hollow spot against the outside wall — like a cave. There's a window in there for light, and I will go in the cave and pull a bale behind me."

"That sounds a lot like hiding," he said with a frown.

"Nothing wrong with hiding now and again," she countered.

"Well, I'm not," he said, shaking his head. "Scott knows I'm in the hangar."

"I wasn't questioning you like that," K replied. "I just wanted to point out there are lots of places to get privacy."

Sying shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't want to go too far," he said.

"Yes, and the horsebarn is just _miles _away," she said, shaking her head. "Best part is that everyone knows I'm out there — or with the horses — so if they don't see me right away, they don't keep looking."

"I'll stick to the hangar," Sying said.

"That's fine," she agreed. "But if you ever get your spot busted … I know of a lot more."

Sying nodded. "Thanks, Grammy K."

The rest of the flight was relaxed and easy, and true to her word, K didn't push to get details on anything or even try to make small talk about school. It was kind of pointless, considering that she heard all the rumors, knew all the kids' scores — basically, there really wasn't anything that slipped past her anyhow.

When they finally landed at the LA school, she tipped her chin up his way. "Lead the way; I'm sure your mom will flip when she sees you."

He grinned and pulled his arm through hers. "And Dad'll love to see you," he pointed out.

"He's probably wrapped up in Elin right now. I know he was looking forward to spending more time with her."

Sying nodded. "He loves her. Me too, for that matter."

"She's a great kid," K agreed as Sying pushed the door open. "You can go ahead if you want. I can catch up."

Sying leaned over and kissed K's cheek before he took off inside — to get immediately tackled by both of his sisters and his little brother, seeing as Melody had heard them talking on the way up.

"Grammy K!" Ael sang out, grinning up at her.

"Hey, little guy," she said, picking him up and tossing him into the air.

"Grammy K, my _aunt _is staying here, and she speaks Kree!" he told her happily.

"Yes, she does — and a whole bunch of other languages too," K told him. "Has she shown you Swedish yet? Or Japanese?"

He nodded with wide eyes. "I can't do some of the words yet, but I'm trying."

"Has she told you about the _roda rosar_?" she asked.

He shook his head. "What's that?"

"I'm sure that Ororo has them in her greenhouse somewhere," K told him with a smirk. "It means 'red roses'."

"Oh." Ael nodded. "I don't really like flowers. They make me sneeze."

She made a point to look properly insulted for just a moment. "But .. I'm a _Lilja._"

"Well, _you _don't make me sneeze."

"No," she said, diving right into merciless tickling. "No sneezes."

Ael squealed with laughter, trying to get away, but Melody and Celeste joined in the fight, tickling whoever they could get their hands on. They were still in a full-on war when Noh and Elin came in from the hallway, Noh's arm around Elin's shoulders and his head tipped down; they were deep in conversation about something. When she saw her mother, Elin grinned outright, and the two of them launched into a very quiet update of things in incredibly fast Swedish, taking all of about five minutes of back and forth to fill each other in as Elin wrapped K up in a tight hug.

"So … thanks; we'll just see you later then, right?" K said waving over Elin's shoulder.

"Only if you give me a hug first," Jubilee called out as she finally caught up to the kids and the group. "Come on. That's _a given_."

"So demanding," K teased a moment before Jubilee went for the tackle.

Sying smiled over at Elin and then zipped over to pick her up in a hug. "How's LA?" he asked as he set her down.

"Thankfully, Storm has kept me pretty busy," she admitted. "Did Krissy even notice that I didn't write back? No. I didn't think so."

Sying bit his lip. "Um, yes. The pouting was epic. Every morning at coffee. Full droopy ears and everything," he corrected her.

"Then maybe I'll apologize," she said with a shrug. "But I really didn't know what to tell her. I mean, you saw the thing."

"I did, and I'm _so _glad you're emailing me, because it's just not the same without you, you know," Sying said with a sigh.

"You'll be fine once you get settled in," she said. "Which is hard to do when you're hiding on the ceiling."

Sying let out a sigh and rolled his eye. "Your mother _told _on me."

"She did not," Elin said. "You always hid on the ceiling; it's your favorite spot."

"No one ever looks up," he said with a shrug. "And it's not _hiding_."

"No one looks up except for paranoid Howletts," Elin argued. "We look up. And it _is_ hiding from everyone else, and you know it."

"They're all just…" Sying shrugged. "The ones that know me keep asking if I'm okay, and the ones that don't are loud."

"So … the same there for you as it is for me here," she decided. "Only I have Nolan sticking his nose over my shoulder whenever I try to study."

He nodded. "How's that going, by the way? I mean, if he's pushy, I can _accidentally _push him…"

"He's trying to be nice," she said, shrugging. "And he's not doing anything that the other little wannabe 'couples' aren't doing. I just don't … care to do that. I don't want to be touched all the time. And I'm _not _looking for a boyfriend."

"Well, yeah, that… huh." He shrugged. "I guess we must be wired differently, because I'd be fine snuggling up with Ael or the twins all day. But I don't want to skip out on school either. So… here we are." He gestured between himself and Elin.

"I don't know," she said lower. "I think I'm the only one that doesn't want to be touched."

He shook his head. "No, I don't think that's true," he said. "Not everyone is a snuggler. I mean… if we were, the whole world would be a much, uh, more populated place."

"Snuggling doesn't _need _to lead to anything else, Sying," Elin said, rolling her eyes.

"No, but it tends to, and if the whole world was that way, you gotta admit…"

"You're ridiculous," she told him as K finished up her chat with Jubilee and Storm.

"You guys ready to go? I thought you might want to get in a decent rest before the practice in the morning," K told Elin, though she was smirking at Sying too.

"Ready when you are," Elin replied before she bumped Sying with her shoulder. "Back we go, I guess."

"Be prepared to get tackled," he told her.

"I'm _prepared _for a cold shoulder," she replied.

"Then you did it wrong."

When the three of them loaded up, K shocked Sying by simply handing over the yoke and leaning back in the copilot chair. "You said you could fly this thing, right?"

Sying's eyebrows shot up before he broke into a smile. "Yeah, of course I can," he said as he took over. And his smile grew the longer he flew. When they touched down in the hangar, he made sure to lean over and give K a kiss on the cheek with a whispered 'thanks'.

"You're flying with me every time, right?" she offered.

He nodded quickly. "Yes, that would be great. I want to see Mom and Dad often."

She tipped her chin up for him to head out. "I'll take care of it from here. Go have some fun."

"Alright," he said, then gave her another quick hug and headed out.

But if Elin was expecting a quiet entrance into the house, she simply wasn't going to get it when Krissy teleported right into her, literally tackling her before the smoke had even cleared.

"Um, hi?" Elin said from the ground.

"I _missed you so much_," Krissy said, snuggling into her friend with her tail wrapped around Elin's arm.

"Why? What happened?"

"You were _gone_," Krissy said, as if it was obvious.

"But you had everyone you needed here, silly Elf," Elin said with a laugh.

"Ugh. You are so wrong," Krissy said before simply teleporting herself and Elin outside the ice cream store in Salem Center. "I'm buying," she said. "I _so _need this."

"Oh-kay," she agreed, following Krissy's lead. "What was so terrible?"

"Oh, nothing, unless you count the fact that Charlie and that guy she liked broke up. She could tell he stopped being interested in her and was pretty upset about it," Krissy said.

"Well that's one way to speed things up," Elin muttered, letting out a breath when she realized that _of course_ Krissy's main concern was everyone's romantic entanglements.

"Oh, and Kari and Kaleb tried to get me grounded because I was _two _minutes late to curfew," Krissy added. "My siblings are demons, Elin."

"Yeah, you can't use that as an excuse for yourself then be surprised when they do the same stuff," she pointed out as she shoved her hands deeper into her pockets.

"Not surprised, just annoyed," Krissy corrected her as they sat down to order some ice cream. "And I've been trying to catch Sying… I know we talked about joining the team at the same time, but I think we can at least start the tests pretty soon. I mean, he turns thirteen at the end of the month, so as long as his last test is then, I think it'll work, right?"

"Sounds like it," she agreed. "If he wants to test right away, anyhow."

She nodded. "That's why I've been trying to track him down. He's been so quiet in class even though we're in the same combat class now that I've caught up, and I… I just want to see where he's at," she admitted. "I really want to join the team with you and Chance. Then I'd get to see you even more!"

"If you want to talk to Sying, you just have to tell him," Elin said.

"He's so hard to pin down," Krissy said with a sigh.

"So do what you always do," Elin told her. "Seems to work fine for you."

Krissy nodded. "I have to know _where _to teleport first," she pointed out.

"You'll figure it out," she said.

Krissy nodded, then broke into a grin as their ice cream arrived. "Seriously, Elin, I so missed you. We need to do this every time you come. Maybe not ice cream, but just… you and me. I _need _my girl time, and sister time does _not _count."

Elin nodded quietly to herself. "Okay. Mom was sure to get me here early anyhow."

"Your mom is a saint," Krissy said, pressing a hand over her heart.

"She would categorically deny that, you know."

"Ah, but that just makes her worthy of it," Krissy said with trouble dancing in her gaze. "Humility."

"Pretty sure that's not humility she's going with," Elin said, shaking her head.

Krissy shrugged. "Potato, pot-ah-toe," she said, waving her hand. "But what about you? How's LA?"

"I don't know. It's alright. Storm is keeping me close to her most of the time. Especially after Jubilee insisted on a haircut." Elin looked up at Krissy and shook her head. "Didn't last. Grew out too fast."

"I was going to say: you don't _look _like you cut your hair."

"It was as short as her pixie," Elin told her. "She pouted the next morning when it was down to my shoulders again."

Krissy giggled. "And you didn't send me any pictures? You are _so _rude!"

"Nothing to see," she said, shrugging again.

"I _so _want to see the short hair! Come on. That's a thing of beauty."

"You'll have to ask Jubilee if she has any."

"_Ugh_." Krissy sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to keep up with my best friend if she doesn't send me pictures?"

"You _know _I don't like to take pictures of myself, Krissy," Elin pointed out.

"But for _that_? Come on."

"Yes. For that. Besides, I figured it wouldn't work. That's why Mom never cuts her hair."

"Yes, but for a few glorious hours, you looked like your adopted sister, and I didn't get to see it, and you will have to make this up to me somehow," Krissy decided, nodding along to her own words.

"By that measure, that's all I'm ever gonna do is make things up, forever and ever," Elin said.

"So long as it involves girls nights and movies and chocolate and snuggling my best friend, I'm perfectly fine with that," Krissy said.

"Easy on the snuggling," Elin said finally with a little frown.

"Oh?" Krissy raised both eyebrows. "I mean, that's fine, I can get snuggles elsewhere, but ... okay…"

"I just … kind of realized I don't really want to be touched, that's all."

"Oh, well, that's perfectly workable," Krissy said with a quick nod. "I'll get all my snuggles out with Chance and then just hang out with my bestie."

Elin nodded her head in agreement. "Good. Stick to that plan, then."

"I'm sorry I didn't know before," Krissy added. "You're my best friend, and I never want to make you hate hanging out with me, okay?"

"Okay," Elin said. "Same. Of course."

Krissy beamed at her around a spoonful of ice cream. "Now… are you going to finish that?" she teased, pointing at the sundae in front of Elin.

Elin pushed it across the table. "Never. Ever."

Krissy broke into a delighted laugh and dug in. "Never change, Elin."

* * *

Sying startled when a wadded up paper ball hit his shoulder and spun to see Krissy waving at him. Their friends were gone to the team training, so it was just the two of them in the living room doing homework. Well… Charlie was there too, but she had fallen asleep at some point in her reading assignment. It was just that kind of a lazy afternoon anyway.

Sying shook his head at Krissy but came over to sit next to her all the same with his eyebrows high on his head. "What's up?"

"When are you going to talk to Storm?" Krissy asked, without any preamble, just jumping into what she wanted to know like she always did.

Sying shook his head at his friend. "Why are you in such a rush?"

"Why _aren't _you?" Krissy shot back, her eyebrows high as she leaned in toward him, her tail moving in a sort of swaying loop — which was how he knew that she really was curious about his reasoning. "You're the one who kept pushing for Scott and Logan to accept Kree numbers for your age so you could get on the team, and now that you're almost at the cut-off age, you're dragging your feet?"

Sying let out a sigh and ran a hand through his white hair. "I'm not dragging my feet. We've still got another month or so."

"To get through _five _tests," she pointed out. "That's, like, a test a week!"

Sying pursed his lips as he considered it. She wasn't wrong, and he knew it. "Well, we'll probably do both of Scott's at once," he pointed out.

"Okay, so a test every almost-one-and-a-half-weeks," Krissy said, rolling her eyes and her head up to the ceiling. "Still, that doesn't mean we can't at least schedule."

"You really don't have to wait for me."

"But I promised I would." Krissy shook her head as she considered her friend. "If you don't want to try out for the team yet, that's fine, but if you do, I'm going _with _you, so I want to know when you get around to it, okay?"

Sying shook his head at her. "We can probably just go with K when she takes Elin back," he offered. "We'd have to talk to Storm anyway."

Krissy grinned and clapped a hand on Sying's shoulder. "See? Was that so hard?"

"Seriously, Krissy, if you wanted to schedule it, you could have done it whenever."

"And I told _you_ that I wanted to do it with you!" Krissy threw up her hands in pure disbelief and shook her head. "Then we can all be on the team together."

"Alright, Krissy." He shook his head at her. "I'll see you then."

"Where are you going?" she asked, frowning.

He gestured toward the door. "I was going for a run." He spun one of the earplug wires in a circle to illustrate. "I mean, you can come too, but I'll lap you."

"I'll 'port."

"Yeah, you'll catch up _for a second_," he said with a quiet smirk.

Krissy rolled her eyes and pushed him in the shoulder. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do," he said, the smirk widening just the slightest bit before he ran off, leaving Krissy shaking her head behind him.


	5. Everybody Loves Storm

**Chapter 5: "Everybody Loves Storm"**

The weekend was over far too quickly, as far as Krissy was concerned. She had been enjoying having Elin around, but now, with the start of the school week staring them in the face, she was at least glad that she had already planned to go back to LA with her to talk to Storm about the tests anyway.

Elin had given her a little look when she showed up in the hangar. "What's wrong now?" she asked before she paused at the bottom of the stairs to the jet.

"Oh, I'm coming with you," Krissy said brightly.

"What for? Haven't I cut into the party hard enough yet?"

"Um, first of all, no, you have not," Krissy said, rolling her eyes. "And second of all…" She broke into a wide and impish grin. "I need to talk to Storm."

"Oh! Well... I guess it's about time," she said with a nod.

Krissy grinned. "I've been waiting for Sying. I told him over the summer we should go together. I mean, more fun with company, right?"

"I don't know about that, but I guess if you're afraid to go alone …"

Krissy waved a hand. "Oh please," she said dismissively. "I said _more fun _not _less scary_. I thought you had super hearing."

"I do, and I know how to read between the lines, Chicken Hawk."

"Or you could read between these lines: I want to be there _with _Sying," Krissy pointed out, leaning forward a bit.

Elin shook her head at her. "Okay. If you say so." She reached over and patted Krissy's shoulder. "I believe you."

"Ellie," Krissy said, shaking her head, "I love you, but you are _mean_."

"It has to come out sometimes," she sang back to her.

Krissy scrunched up her whole face and stuck her tongue out at Elin as Sying came down to the hangar, music in hand, and raised his eyebrows at the girls. "Okay, what did you do now, Krissy?"

"_ME_?"

"He knows how it works," Elin told her.

Krissy scrunched up her nose at both of them. "You two are in cahoots, I tell you. Ca-hoots."

"I see, so when you're busted, you revert to hundred-year-old terminology. Good to know," Elin said, taking her seat by the window.

"She _is_ a pirate," Sying pointed out with a little smirk as he slipped into copilot.

"Then shouldn't it be older words?" Elin asked. "Or just like … _yarr_?"

"Neither of you is funny," Krissy grumbled.

"Yet you still say you want more time with us," Elin said, shaking her head. "Something isn't right here."

"I'm not gonna let you push me away by being mean-spirited," Krissy shot back with her nose in the air. "You're stuck with me forever and ever, amen. HA."

Sying snorted to himself and shook his head as he settled in at the controls, and K joined them as soon as he had run all the pre-flight checks. She ruffled his hair as she sat down, glad to see that he was enjoying himself — the switch to the blackbird had brought back some of his love of flying; it was clear to see.

Once they got to LA, though, Sying leaned over to kiss K's cheek. "We're going to talk to Storm, so we might be a little bit late," he said. "Is that okay? I can run us back if you need."

"Of course; take your time," K said. "I know Jubes wanted to tell me something about this whole program Storm has Elin in anyhow. Go on. I'll wait. I think Logan can deal with the tiny ones for a while just fine."

Sying grinned and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Grammy K," he said before he zipped off — though Krissy had still managed to beat him there, since the teleport only took a few seconds.

"Hi, Sying!" Krissy called out with an impish grin that had him shaking his head at her as he knocked on Storm's door.

"You're never going to get over being able to beat me, are you?"

"Oh, never," she swore.

He shook his head at her as Storm called for them to come in, and Krissy was sure to be her usual dramatic self and open the door for him with a deep bow from the hips with a showwoman's smile. "You're ridiculous," he whispered to her on the way in.

"You love it," she whispered right back.

Sying stopped for a second and blinked at her before he shook his head and decided to let it roll off his shoulder. He knew Krissy was just… like this.

* * *

Elin had left the plane with her backpack slung over shoulder as she took her mom down to where she was bunking up — next door to Storm simply because the Goddess wanted to keep her close and watch her carefully.

Storm had made it clear that she wasn't going to let her get too far over her head with anything, and part of that meant she was in a room fairly removed from most of the student body. Of course, part of that had to do with this 'program' she was putting her through, too. Which was still more or less unexplained as far as Elin knew.

She took her time snuggled up to her mom as she caught her up on what there was to see in LA — the reports she'd finished, the scores on her tests, and of course the photos of the short hair that she didn't _want _to show to Krissy.

It was a nice way to round out the weekend, and Elin did miss spending time with her mom — just her mom. So even when they were done chatting, she was more than happy to just … be.

* * *

After they had scheduled their tests with Storm, Krissy and Sying had split up. Krissy went right to the beach with the Lee girls, but Sying wanted to spend some time with his parents.

"How are you holding up?" Jubilee asked as soon as she had made sure to give him a solid hug.

He scrunched up his nose and straightened up a bit. "I'm _fine_, Mom."

She hugged him again before she pulled him off to go out for some ice cream, and once Noh met up with the two of them with Ael on his shoulders, it was an all-around excellent day.

So Sying was in a great mood as he headed back to the hangar in LA to meet up with Krissy and K. But he was halfway there when he almost ran into Nolan — and he was in such a good mood that he decided to stop and say hi.

"Oh, hey, Sying," Nolan said with a bright smile. "Still weird not having you here all the time."

Sying shrugged lightly. "Still a little weird not being here all the time," he admitted. "How's life?"

"Not bad, I guess," he said. "I'm into the more advanced writing classes now, and that's just … awesome. Really. How is Westchester treating you?"

"Not bad," Sying said with a shrug. "I just stopped by to schedule a test for the team."

"Oh. The last one's a killer. Watch out," he said with a perfectly straight face.

Sying smiled his way. "Yeah, I've heard. But it's my grandpa."

"I never got past your grandmother, honestly," Nolan said.

Sying raised both eyebrows. "Oh, that _is _rough."

"Maybe they'll be nicer for family," Nolan said, shrugging. "Who knows?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Sying said. "I asked Elin, and she said it was _rough_."

"Do you really think he'd go after her hard though?" Nolan asked. "I mean. Come on."

Sying laughed. "You don't know my grandparents that well. They expect family to live up to a _high _standard. More than anyone else."

Nolan let out a low whistle. "Then … good luck, man. Really."

"Thanks." Sying took a deep breath. "I think I can handle it, but I know it's specifically designed to tear into your weaknesses. Build up your strengths, too." He rubbed his neck a bit. "But you know, thanks. Hopefully, I'll have a yellow uniform by Christmas."

"Well… it's not your color, but … if that's what you're after," Nolan gave him a broad smile. "Really. Good luck."

"Same to you. I'm sure Kamala's classes are going to be just what you need."

"Oh, she's incredible," Nolan gushed, brightening up a little more. "I really like her assignments."

Sying couldn't help grinning and nodding. "She was my favorite teacher growing up here," he admitted. "Mostly because she knows what it's like to be the youngest in the group, so she never treated me like that. I think she's just that way with everyone, though."

"Well … I'm just glad to keep working here. The teachers are unbelievable. All of them." He let out a sigh. "So. Are you going to be back when Elin heads out to the next practice? She's getting a real following around here. I'd say I can't believe it, but..." He shrugged. "She's really something else. Gorgeous. Talented … ."

"Yeah, I think I'm coming back every time, just to see my sisters and Ael, you know?" Sying grinned. "Besides, everyone knows my aunt is the one to watch. It's _obvious_."

"Really?" he asked. "I didn't know she was rock solid on doing the hero thing."

"She's a natural at it," Sying said. "She trains with me, and I gotta tell you, I think that might be the only way I pass my grandpa's test. Just… practice with someone better than me." He paused. "Don't tell her I said that. She'll latch on to tease me."

"I won't," Nolan promised. "She defends all of you guys pretty fiercely though."

"Family trait," Sying pointed out. He tipped his head Nolan's way for a second and took a deep breath. "Speaking of…"

Nolan's smile dropped a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

Sying bit his lip as he considered his answer. "Not _wrong_… But seeing as you're interested in my aunt, you should know: she doesn't like to be touched right now."

What was left of his smile fell entirely. "What happened?"

Sying gestured openly. "What do you think? The same thing that happens to all of us who grow up in it: our family names get us in trouble, and it's hard to bounce back from some of the … stuff they face."

He let out a heavy sigh and looked ready to hit something. "I _knew _something like this was going to happen."

Sying held up a hand. "Let her deal with it, alright? I can tell you right now from experience you don't bounce back from it because someone _else _hit something," he said, gesturing to Nolan's clenched fist.

Nolan nodded. "So what am I supposed to do, then?"

"Just… don't be overly touchy, I guess," Sying said. "I'm not saying she needs to be alone — because she _shouldn't be. _But maybe give her some space. I just want to make sure she's alright while she's here, you know?"

He nodded to himself, listening to all Sying had to say. "Alright." Nolan tried for a small smile. "I just wish she'd _tell _me these things."

"Nolan, I only know these things because I'm _related _to her," Sying pointed out. He paused. "Well, and she told me some of it after I went to space. She knew I needed someone to relate to."

Nolan's entire expression shifted to one that was clearly more concerned. "Wait. How long has this been a problem?"

"Since last fall," Sying said, frowning back at him. "Didn't she tell you about Sinister?"

He shook his head. "She's pretty tight-lipped about everything. Especially stuff about everyone back in New York."

Sying nodded. "Well… I don't know how much I should tell you if she's not ready to talk about it," he admitted.

Nolan shook his head and held up one hand. "Don't. Please. I'll back off and try to let her see she can trust _me _too."

Sying smiled at that. "I think she'd appreciate that."

* * *

When Kurt teleported to the LA school with Krissy and Sying for the test, he made sure to give Ororo a warm hug and hand her a purple bag. "For Amadi's birthday," he said before he kissed her cheek.

Ororo couldn't help but smile and wrap him up in a tight hug. "Such a sweet little brother."

He beamed at her. "I couldn't possibly miss the chance to see my beautiful sister," he said and kissed her hand. "And her gorgeous daughter who looks so much like her every passing day."

"You are a terrible flirt as always," she laughed before she kissed his cheek. "Please. Continue."

He laughed and pulled her into another hug, teleporting off to the LA school's simulation room — ahead of the kids.

"They never stop," Amadi whispered to Krissy.

"No kidding," Krissy said, shaking her head before she teleported off to catch up — and Sying had to run to get there as well.

"So," Ororo said, looking between the two teenagers. "Who would like to go first?"

Krissy and Sying glanced at each other and had a silent conversation in a few seconds before Krissy let out a sigh. "_Fine_," she said. "He can go first."

"I wasn't expecting a fight for first," Ororo told them both.

"Well, when you can teleport anywhere, patience isn't a thing," Sying teased Krissy.

"Or super speed," Krissy shot back.

"True enough," Ororo laughed. "But I know how patient our favorite teleporters are, so … if you two would go make yourselves at home, Sying and I will begin."

Kurt and Krissy both grinned and were sure to wish Sying luck before teleporting off to the beach — since if they were going to have to wait, they might as well make the most of it.

Krissy hit the water before Kurt did simply by virtue of not caring if her clothes got wet, since she knew she could change in the locker room later and wanted to beat her dad. But Kurt got her back by teleporting directing into her path and dropping her into the water again, which led to an all-out war that lasted for a good long time, until Kurt pointed out that Krissy shouldn't wear herself _too _thin before her test and they headed to the beach to lay out together and dry off in the sun, chatting about the upcoming play, how classes were going… pretty much everything except for the state of Krissy's dating life, a topic that she had long ago given up on with her dad.

Krissy was well and truly relaxed, but Kurt, on the other hand, didn't have to keep from wearing out ahead of any test, and when he spotted Elin near the school on the deck, he grinned to himself and teleported over to kiss her cheek. "Enjoying the sun and warmth?" he teased. "It's already chilly in Westchester."

"A little bit," she replied. "I miss the seasons already, honestly."

"And they miss you," Kurt said, resting a hand on her shoulder with a grin. "But I understand you're doing well here."

"Hard to tell," she said, sitting up a little straighter. "But that's nice to hear anyhow. It's test day, right? Are both of them going?"

Kurt nodded. "If you ask me," he said, leaning forward with a conspiratory twinkle in his eyes, "we were just kicked out so there would be no eavesdropping. Shameful."

"She knows you'd cheat terribly," Elin told him with a tiny smirk.

"Oh, absolutely," he agreed, his smile widening. "I'm a wonderful influence."

"Probably," she agreed. "Is Krissy nervous?"

"Not for this test," Kurt said. "But I thought you knew: she's been a bit nervous for Kitty's test. She is absolutely hopeless at flying, and after Chance's performance…" He laughed. "All she knows is that there are space pirate jokes, and she is convinced she can't live up to it."

"She'll be fine," Elin decided. "And he only got space pirate jokes for what his sim was."

"Oh, I know that, and you know that," Kurt said. "But Krissy doesn't."

"I did tell her it won't be the same as anyone else's," Elin promised. "She doesn't really like to listen to me though. So …" she shrugged lightly.

Kurt chuckled. "I think you'll find she listens to you — but when she is panicking, that goes out the window." He leaned forward. "Her mother is the same way. But to be honest, I think she gets it from me."

"I wouldn't know," Elin said, keeping a perfectly straight face.

Kurt smiled a little wider. "Would you like to know how to tell if she listens to you?"

"You don't have to divulge any secrets for me," she told him.

"_Laecherlich_. I'm your godfather," he chuckled. "Watch who she turns to for advice. _That _is the voice she values, _schatzi_."

Elin didn't say anything back to that but drew in a deep breath. "I should probably get dressed. She's going to smoke through her test."

"She is," Kurt said with a proud smile. "And Sying should be nearly through his."

Elin nodded. "Okay. Well, wish her luck for me; she's pretty busy still. I'll see you on the other side."

"Oh no." Kurt shook his head and simply teleported Elin with him to where Krissy was laid out on the towel. "Krissy, Elin wanted to wish you luck," he told her, though he was taken aback by how tightly Elin was holding onto his arm.

"Knock 'em dead," Elin told her, forcing a very nearly believable smile.

Krissy popped to her feet and rushed over to give Elin a quick hug and a kiss on her cheek. "You know I will."

"I'm going to be waiting for you with Jubilee. Heads up: she'll glitter bomb you pretty heavy when you get out."

"Then I will look _fabulous_," Krissy decided, squaring up her shoulders with a perfectly regal expression.

"All purple and _gold_," Elin warned. "She wanted to be sure it showed up."

"I'll make sure to hug you afterward," Krissy swore.

"Thanks for the heads up; I'll put on layers," Elin told her before she kissed her cheek then quickly turned to run back toward the school, with Kurt frowning after her, complete with a drooping tail.

But there was no time to consider it too hard as Krissy and Kurt teleported off to change out of their beachwear in preparation for the test, arriving just after Sying stepped out of the room with a pleased sort of smile.

"Did you nail it?" Krissy asked, and when Sying nodded, she grinned. "Of course you did."

"You'll do great too," he promised her, and she made sure to give him a quick hug before darting into the test room, as Sying put his headphones in his ears and leaned back, still smiling to himself.

As soon as the door closed behind Krissy though, Jubilee struck — with a swirl of black glitter mixed with stars. "Congratulations!" she shouted.

Sying nearly startled and then broke into a huge grin as he rushed to pick Jubilee up and spin her around — and get her covered in glitter too. "Toldja I'd be an X-Man," he said.

"I never doubted you," Jubilee said with a sharp nod. "Good genes, after all."

"Oh, obviously," he agreed, still smiling. "Actually, it was kind of fun."

"Oh I'm sure; Storm runs a fun room," Jubilee agreed, grinning outright before she nearly squealed and started to drag him toward the kitchen. "We so need to celebrate!"

Sying couldn't help grinning as he let Jubilee drag him off to ply him with sugar, grinning wider the more time he spent with his excited mother.

* * *

Elin changed as quickly as she could and then picked up her backpack with what she'd need for the weekend before she headed toward the foyer to wait out the others. It was almost always quiet there, and very few people ever came there, after all, so she cracked open her literature assignment and began to read.

Since Kurt had wanted to celebrate with Krissy once she was done with her test, that meant that Sying was the first one to find her and sit down next to her, grinning from ear to ear for the first time in months and clearly enjoying himself.

"I'm not even surprised," Elin told him with a little smirk. "Of course you aced it."

He grinned even wider and nodded. "It was a _blast_. She even let me stretch a bit and do a nice run at the end."

"You're going to love Kitty's," she promised.

"Oh yeah. Tech? I got that," he said, bouncing slightly in his seat — a slight sugar buzz running through him, which was a real testament to how much sugar Jubilee had given him, considering his metabolism.

She closed her book and got to her feet to wrap him up in a hug. "I'm glad to see that smile again."

He was quick to return the favor and even spun her around. "It's been a good day," he said. "Maybe we'll get to see yours come out sometime too."

"Don't hold your breath," she warned.

He shook his head at her and kissed her cheek. "For my favorite aunt? I can be patient." He grinned. "But _only _for you."

"Love you too," she told him, going back to a tight hug.

"Krissy made it too, by the way," he said. "I saw her come out with Kurt, but they wanted to get some frozen yogurt first."

"Oh, good," she said, nodding. "I knew she'd be fine as long as she didn't get nervous."

Sying nodded. "I'm really looking forward to being on the team," he admitted. "It's nice to have something to work toward, you know?"

"It is a nice distraction," she agreed. "So … now what?"

"Now… if you want, I can text Krissy and we can go ahead and _not _wait for the Elfses," he offered.

"That might be smart," she said. "They'll get a chance to play that way."

He nodded and scooped her up with a smile. "Promise not to drop you," he teased.

"I'll heal if you do," Elin replied easily, which had him shaking his head at her before he took off again.


	6. Panic

**Chapter 6: "Panic"**

It was another two weeks before Sying and Krissy headed up to Chicago together for Kitty's test, and this time, Sying let Krissy go first — since he got to go first last time.

"I'll wait for you, though," she promised, though Sying knew that was more or less because she was still steamed about how Sying and Elin had "abandoned" her in LA. Which they really hadn't — they were all going to the same place afterward anyway.

So he waved Krissy off and waited for the signal that he could go in next, a couple floors up, so he couldn't even accidentally overhear anything going on.

He wound up getting caught up with Peter Quill talking about how the Guardians were doing while he was waiting, since Quill seemed to think it was _amazing _that Sying had bonded with Groot over his musical tastes. Actually, Sying enjoyed hanging out with his "uncle" Peter. They had similar music tastes, and he was generally _fun. _There wasn't much that could keep him down, and his enthusiasm was infectious as he got to telling stories about all the stuff he and Groot had gotten up to when they were first in the Guardians together.

Sying soaked it up, just listening to Peter go on and getting wrapped up in the stories, so much so that he hadn't noticed how much time had passed until Krissy teleported up to let him know she was done — with a huge, beaming smile as she wrapped Sying up in a hug.

"It went well, then?" Sying asked with a small smirk.

She beamed at him. "It was great! I thought it was going to be all space ships and stuff, but Kitty said I've got an ear for languages!"

"Oh yeah?"

Krissy grinned and nodded, then shooed him with both hands. "Hurry up! You'll totally nail this thing. It's, like, pretty much _made _for you."

Sying couldn't help but smirk at that and nodded before he zipped off down to the Chicago center's Danger Room, where Kitty was waiting for him up in the booth. He waved up at her with a little smile — he really was in a good mood after talking music and Guardians for the past hour or so — and she beamed down at him before she started up the sim for him.

He had expected there to be a lot more … well, he had expected more hacking, less flying by the seat of his pants running away from invading Kree. But that was how the sim started — he figured Kitty was testing him on fighting against his homeworld — and he threw himself into it with both hands.

He flew through the Kree section of the test and even _highly _enjoyed a dogfight with the Brood, but when the scene shifted to one on Chandilar with attacking Shi'ar, Sying's mood shifted entirely. For just a moment, Sying felt all the blood leave his face, and he took a step back, and then it was like he'd gone into autopilot before he rushed in and… the plasmoid that followed was probably going to leave marks on the floor of the Danger Room for a _while_.

He had _never _done one that big before, and it left him feeling pretty well drained, not to mention wide-eyed, though he wasn't sure if that was from the explosion that had thrown him to the ground or if it was from the Shi'ar or what — but either way, that was the end of the sim.

"What happened back there?" Kitty asked, even before the normal work lights came on in the simulator.

Sying took a deep breath and shook his head. "Sorry about that," he muttered. "I've never done one that big before."

"That ... really didn't tell me what happened." Kitty looked concerned.

Sying paused and shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't mean to blow up your Danger Room, I swear."

"Oh, don't worry about that part," Kitty said. "Your mom used to do that once a month at your age. That … okay. Okay." She was still for a moment, biting her lip as she considered it all. "We might need to reset, because … we weren't exactly _done._"

"Alright," he said with a little frown.

"Let me get a few people in here to fix it … just … try to chill out for a little bit. We have some miracle workers here." She grinned at him. "Like … a certain little technopath. This will take no time at all."

"Do you mind if I grab some sugar in the meantime?" he asked. "It'll help…"

She stopped and pointed a finger his way. "Speak to _no one_," she warned.

He held up both hands. "I swear, I just want some Sugar Bombs, and I'll take my music."

"We have a giant box of donuts in the kitchen," Kitty told him. "No one here eats Sugar Bombs. Sorry."

Sying shrugged. "That's alright." He paused and scuffed the floor. "I really am sorry. That's never happened before."

She grinned at him. "It's fine! Really! I sometimes fry it when I phase through the wrong wall. Believe me: it's a common problem around here."

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "You're not going to fail me, are you? I really was having a lot of fun until that happened, but I'll do it again if you need me to."

"No! You have more to do still," Kitty promised. "And you totally kicked their butts so … I think anyone watching would count that as a win. It would count that way in the field, right?"

He smiled sheepishly at that and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Aunt Kitty."

* * *

While Sying was running his test, James had made a point to sneak up behind Krissy and scare her. Just because it had been a very long time since he'd done that. "I had to hear from Kitty that you were coming today," James said when she spun to face him. "Rude. Especially after the whole rundown on how much you were going to _miss _everyone."

Krissy grinned at him and threw her arms around his neck. "Well, some people just don't tell me their plans anymore," she said, though she was still hugging him. "Also, excuse you, since when are you almost as tall as me?"

"Probably since you quit talking to me," James said in an airy tone.

"Oh please. You and Elin won't answer me, and I don't _grovel_," Krissy said, waving her hand.

"I have gotten exactly one email — that I answered," James countered. "Quit projecting your little whatever it is with her onto me."

Krissy pushed out her lip for a moment before she let her shoulders slump and had to admit that he was right. "Sorry," she said, then gave him a good solid hug. "How's Chicago? Tell me everything."

"It's … okay, I guess. The classes are boring. The scenery is boring. But … the pranks are almost enough to make up for it."

"Oh?" Krissy broke into a huge grin, her tail swaying behind her.

"We kinda filled Kitty's office with balloons. That were also filled with glitter."

"Who's we?" Krissy asked, the smile widening even more.

James smiled her way. "My accomplice."

"Is she cute?"

"He is hilarious, but I … don't go for my uncles like that."

Krissy burst into a laugh when she realized what he was talking about. "Oh, you and Peter Quill — that is just… amazing!"

"It started out as a prank war between us. I rigged his ship to just … not work for him, but it worked fine for Kitty. Little DNA panel from Stark's stash. And when he figured out what it was, it was back and forth for a while. Until … Kitty tried to stop us? Then we kinda teamed up on her."

Krissy grinned even wider. "Oh, it sounds like you had a great time!" She shook her head. "I'm so jealous."

"No, you're not," he said with a laugh before he gave her shoulder a little shove. "Horrible liar. Almost as bad as Elin."

"She is horrible," Krissy said, making a face.

"So what did she do to mortally offend you?" James asked. "And how can I help even it out?"

"Well, if you can figure out how to get her to stop _running away from me _and then accusing me of never wanting to hang out with her _because she's running away from me_, then you _are _a genius."

James tipped his head to the side. "She … was kind of running away after … nevermind." He waved his hand. "Forget it. Just roll with she's nuts."

"Oh, I figured out that it started after Sinister. I'm not an idiot," Krissy said in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone. "But I'm not Sinister, and she's my best friend!"

"Oh, is _that _when it started," James made a face. "I had no idea."

"James, you're hilarious and all, but I'm being serious right now."

"Well … why would she want to avoid you?" James asked.

"I don't _know_," Krissy said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I've stopped snuggling with her — I mean, I still hug her and everything — and I try to email her at _least _three times a week, and I just don't know what more I can do to prove her that I want to still be her friend, even though she's an idiot!"

James let out his breath and looked past her to make sure no one was around before he pulled her down into an empty classroom. "She isn't going to believe you like that. Even if it makes sense to you."

"Then clue me in, because I just… I can't lose my best friend, James."

"Well I don't know if I can; you don't know the secret handshake."

"James, _please_," Krissy said, perfectly serious and wide-eyed.

"I can talk to her," he told her. "But she's really kind of drifting from everyone."

"I just don't want her to think she doesn't have me. I'm going to be her best friend forever."

"It's too late for that; she's pretty convinced she's alone, and I think she's starting to _want _to be alone."

"_Why_?" Krissy stared at him. "I'm falling over myself trying to show her she's not — _how _can she think that?"

James looked like he was trying to find the right words for her. "It's just … a mess. And easier. A lot easier."

"She seems alright with Sying," Krissy said quietly.

"Yeah," James said, nodding his head lightly. "Shared misery."

"So… I should be miserable all the time?" Krissy wrinkled her nose.

"No, that's not it," James said, clearly frustrated himself as he scrubbed both hands over his face. "It's hard to be upbeat, alright? Doesn't mean you shouldn't be; it's just hard for her. And believe it or not, she really does think you'll be fine without her. _Better, _even, because if she's out of the picture, then _clearly, _she's not going to be dragging you down."

Krissy threw her hands up in frustration. "She's only dragging me down _because _she's trying to leave me in the dust!"

"Well … she's not trying to leave you in the dust," he pointed out. "She's trying to get out of your way."

Krissy let out a long, groaning sound of frustration. "Yeah."

"Hey, you wanted me to tell you what's going on," James said. "I never said you'd like it."

"Because it doesn't make _sense_," Krissy said.

"Not to you, no," he agreed.

"So what do I do?" Krissy asked. "It sounds to me like she's just going to … run away no matter what I do."

"You can't control what other people do," James pointed out. "Just like you can't change how they feel. You know that."

"I know, but friendship goes both ways," Krissy said, tipping her head back.

"And if you don't think that she'd destroy anyone that crossed you, you're totally wrong."

"James, friendship is more than just protecting each other," Krissy said.

"It isn't when that's all you can do," he argued.

Krissy wrinkled her nose and turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

James froze for an instant. "Nevermind."

"No, seriously." She shook her head, her tail twitching behind her.

"Seriously. Nevermind." He crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest desk.

"But you… you and Elin give the _best _advice," Krissy said. "And you're hilarious — both of you. And you give the best hugs, and you're so much fun to hang out with and — and — I don't understand!"

"And I'm not smart enough to explain it," James said. "It's not … something I can get the right words for, okay? Or I would tell you."

"It's because you're just as wrong as she is on some of this, isn't it," Krissy said, her arms crossed. "Don't think I don't know you came out here to get some space, because _I know_."

"If you know that, then why is it so hard to believe that she needs it too?"

"I'm _giving _her space! I only see her every couple of weeks! And I have _never _asked for a snuggle!"

"That's better than I'm doing," James said.

"But you're in an epic prank war with Peterquill," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but that can only last for so long," he replied.

Krissy let out a sigh, then reached over and pulled him into a hug. "Love you, James."

"Love you too," he answered. "I'll talk to Elin and see what's up. If you were _smart, _you'd bribe Charlie into seeing her."

"But Charlie only knows what she's feeling, not _why_."

"Right. Which I can't describe that part," James pointed out.

"You really did a good job," she assured him. "That's more than I've _ever _understood."

"I really didn't," he said. "That just falls so short."

"Shut up and take the compliment."

"Make me." He straightened up and pulled his lip back at her.

Krissy just grinned at him and tossed her hair. "James," she said, "you're amazing." And then she immediately teleported away.

"STILL NOT TAKING IT!" he shouted out.

* * *

Sying had polished off the entire box of donuts while he was waiting for David and Kitty to get the Danger Room set back up, and he was deeply engrossed in his music, his hands behind his head and at least _trying _to look as perfectly relaxed as he could. None of his friends had blown up their test on just the second round.

He nearly startled when Kitty came to get him to let him know that they were set up again, and he quickly put away his music.

Kitty gave him an encouraging smile as they headed back to the Danger Room — and everything after that was a cakewalk, really. He'd done great on space tech; she just wanted to run him through a few sims with some more earthbound scenarios, hacking databases under fire, that sort of thing. It was a relief to hear he wouldn't be going back to space, honestly, and he breezed through it quickly before the sims were through.

"So, did I pass?" Sying asked, honestly unsure, since he had sort of… destroyed the whole thing.

"You were amazing," Kitty promised.

He grinned and zipped over to hug her. "That really was fun," he said.

"I'm glad you liked it," Kitty replied as she hugged him back with a smile. "I try to make it fun, you know."

"Well, it was a blast," he assured her before he zipped off to go tell Krissy that he'd passed so they could celebrate.

As soon as the little group headed out on the jet, Kitty made her call to Scott. "So, they both technically passed, but …"

"But?"

"But … he totally froze up and then blew up when he faced off with a little platoon of Shi'ar." Kitty let out her breath. "He was amazing with all of his tech — languages, flight, everything. But when he had the Shi'ar, it was _exactly _like when Jubilee would get overwhelmed and under too much pressure."

For a long moment, Scott was quiet, before he finally let out a breath. "I can't say I'm surprised," he admitted. "But thank you for letting me know."

"I still passed him," Kitty said. "But this thing with the Shi'ar clearly hasn't been handled very well. He's going to have to face it somehow. The good news is that it seems like he might have the same ballpark potential Jubilee did at his age. We had to do some fast repairs on the Danger Room that Howard is going to have to go back into to fix."

On the other end, Scott was raising his eyebrows. "That's good to hear — and good for Howard to get a solid project like that," he couldn't help but add with a grin obvious in his voice. He paused. "I'll work up something for Sying."

"Well if you want a full panic … you know what to do," Kitty told him. "Just … make sure he deals with it either way."

"Thanks, Kitty," Scott said.


	7. We Have a Problem

**Chapter 7: "We Have a Problem"**

"K, I need your help," Clint said as soon as K picked up her buzzing phone — no preamble or joke, so she knew it was an actual problem.

"Okay, what's up, buttercup?" K asked, still in a good mood. "Do you need me to come to you? Or…?"

"Zoe's … you know what, just come over here."

"On the way," she promised before she turned to where Logan and Kurt were quietly chatting then threw a wadded up piece of newspaper at both of them. "I need a lift. There is an emergency with my sugar daddy."

Kurt raised an eyebrow but teleported over to her. "Of course there is."

"Sorry to disgrace you, Dad," K said with a straight face. "I just can't help it."

Kurt shook his head at her with a little chuckle before teleporting off with her to Bed Stuy, where Clint met them at the door to his apartment.

"What's wrong now?" K asked, the smile from earlier gone.

Clint waved them both in to show them two little boys — exactly identical. And both Nikolas Bartons waved back at K with little impish smiles. "That."

"Oh, crap," K muttered. "You have a frikkin' shapeshifter."

"A-yep. And Nat's in Bulgaria for the next two months in deep cover," Clint said.

"Of course she is, or she would be mad I was here," K replied shaking her head. "So what's your problem — outside of not enough matching clothes for them?"

"Uh ... I don't know which one is which?" Clint pointed out. "_One _of them is my baby girl, K."

"Well …" K said, shrugging her shoulders up. "You can hold up a taser and an arrow and see who goes for what …"

He rolled his eyes at her. "They'd both go for either and you know it. Nikolas is excellent in hand to hand."

K gave him a little smirk. "Any excuse to brag," she said before walking over to the two little ones and crouching down. "You like giving your dad fits, don't you?"

The two boys glanced at each other, grinned, and nodded in unison.

She had to grin back at them. "You know … if you keep it up, Mom is going to be mad when she finally gets home."

The boy on the left shook his head. "No way."

"She'll help," the boy on the right agreed.

K chuckled and nodded. "Yes. She probably would. But ... " She reached out and grabbed the one on the left and tickled until Zoe shifted back to herself, begging her to stop. "It's still not nice."

Zoe was gasping and giggling and wiping tears from her eyes as she tried to get herself back together. "Well, I didn't do it on purpose, but I wasn't gonna _not _run with it!"

"Be nice to your dad," she said before she dropped in to sit between both of them. "He's trying so hard."

Zoe grinned up at her and then over at Clint, who looked visibly relieved. "Sorry, Dad!"

Clint just shook his head at her. "You know what this means, right, Zo?"

Zoe grinned up at K and leaned in to whisper, "It means I get to go to your school, right? With Uncle Logan?"

"It means that your Uncle Logan and I get to teach you new tricks," K agreed.

"My mother already taught me tricks," Nikolas chimed in. "She showed me where to hit people with her bites to make it _hurt_."

"Yes, but I know some your mother hates," K promised.

"I'm raising future KGB agents, I just know it," Clint deadpanned.

"No, they hated my tricks too," K said with a grin. "So … are you bringing her by tomorrow, or is she taking the Elf express?"

"I'm taking her," Clint said, chuckling as he shook his head.

"He likes to feel like he knows what's going on," Nikolas whispered.

"He does sometimes," K told him, frowning.

"Not when we both look like me," Nikolas giggled.

"Then he calls in me," she told him as she ruffled his hair. "Which was clearly the right thing to do, ya little hunyaks."

Zoe and Nikolas grinned at each other. "No, we're Bartons," Nikolas said.

"He's a hunyak too," K told him. "So … anything else that is terribly pressing? I'm pretty sure I'm past my curfew."

"You have a _bedtime_?" Zoe asked, scrunching up her nose.

"Yep. Logan gets grumpy if I'm gone too long, right, Kurt?"

"Oh yes," Kurt said with a smirk. "Terribly."

"It's a wonder we make things work between us," Clint teased with a smirk.

"Do you think Uncle Logan will like my powers?" Zoe asked, wide-eyed.

"Absolutely," K said, nodding her head. "But you won't be able to sneak by him either."

Zoe frowned for a moment before she nodded. "Maybe one day."

Clint chuckled. "That's right, Zo. Shoot for the stars."

* * *

The next day, when Zoe came by the institute to get her schedule sorted out and start classes, she was sure to go to Logan's class as soon as class let out — but as Nikolas, because that was the only person she knew how to shift into so far.

"Hey, Zoe," Logan said without looking up at her yet.

"No," Zoe said, shaking her head and giggling.

He looked up and gave her a crooked little smile. "Yes."

She let her shoulders drop and shifted back into herself, though her hair was still a darker red, like Nikolas's (who was getting redder and redder every year), instead of her lighter red color. "How'd you know?"

"Aside from the fact that he's not in the school yet?" Logan asked before he tapped the side of his nose. "You pick things up."

She let out all her breath in a whoosh. "Well, it works on _Dad_."

"Your dad is easy to trick," Logan agreed before he reached out and ruffled her hair.

"I look _just _like my brother," she said, shrugging her shoulders up. "I can't do anyone else, though."

"You will," he promised. "Just takes a little practice."

She beamed at him and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I bet I can fool everybody else, though," she said. "I already got Uncle Steve."

"He's easy to fool too," Logan chuckled. "And I'm sure you can fool pretty much everyone else."

"You won't forget what I look like, right?" she asked, shaking out her hair with a frown as she tried to get it back to its usual red. "Ugh. Why isn't this working?"

"I'm not the right person to ask," he admitted.

She nodded. "Alright. Who should I ask? K?"

"Ah, no," Logan told her, shaking his head. "Ask someone that needs to focus to use their abilities."

"Okay," she said, then gave him another hug. "I'll just find someone else." She pointed a finger at him. "Don't give me away next time, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

"Not right now," Scott said. He was sitting across from Sying in his office, and the young man hadn't even gotten out the question before Scott cut him off.

"But—"

"Not right now," Scott repeated. He let out a breath and looked up at Sying. "Ask me again after Halloween, but right now, this isn't the best time."

"What do you mean?"

Scott shook his head. "I mean this isn't the best time for me to schedule you. Wait until after Halloween and midterms are over."

Sying let out a breath and let his shoulders slump but nodded all the same. "Alright."

Scott waited until Sying was well out of earshot before he let out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. He'd been trying to figure out what to do about Sying since Kitty called him after the test, and he thought he might have a solution — but he didn't like it.

He'd already talked with Noh about the whole thing, who agreed — insisting that he didn't want the Shi'ar to be able to affect his little boy. But with Sying already asking when he could take his next test, Scott was trying to put him off until at least after his birthday. It was close enough that he didn't want Sying to be even more depressed on his birthday — because the truth was, Scott knew if he took the test now, he wouldn't get past the psychological exam.

But that was just over a week away, and after that, he needed to sit down with the young man. Sying needed to deal with what had happened on Chandilar, or he was never going to be able to join the team.

Scott headed down to the barn, where he knew K would be with the horses after her last class of the day, and waited in the doorway with his arms crossed for her to turn his way.

"You can just tell me what you want," K said before she turned around. "You don't need to be so …. Dramatic."

"I need to ask a favor," he said with a smirk.

"Well," K replied, finally turning to look at him before she pointedly sat down on a bale of hay in the alleyway and primly crossed her legs. "Shoot."

He sat down across from her with a distinct frown. "Have you talked to Sying about how his test with Kitty went? I know you're the one he's closest to here."

"No, he really didn't say more than that he passed and that it was a lot of fun," K told him. "Why? What's the problem?"

"He did pass, and he ran through it with flying colors, but K ... when Kitty threw a Shi'ar army at him, he absolutely lost it."

"Not entirely surprised, are you?"

"No," he said. "We've known he's still dealing with it, but I saw the footage from the Danger Room. I don't think he could tell you what happened, K. I don't think he was fully conscious."

"No idea what that's like," she said, crossing her arms and pulling her feet up.

"Why do you think I'm coming to you?" he pointed out with the smallest smirk.

"I'm just waiting for the favor, brown eyes."

Scott nodded and let out a breath. "I think he needs to see for himself how much he's been affected," he told her carefully. "I want to put him in the Danger Room, and I need your help to get him in an inhibitor collar."

K didn't react in the least, simply watching him for a moment. "Walk me through your plan — and why me?"

"I know you can sneak up on him," Scott said. "And _when _he freaks out, I know you can get him down from it." He took a deep breath. "But I need to see — and _he _needs to see — just how bad it is before I can even think about sending him on to Logan's test."

She nodded and kept watching him. "So … you're relying on my sneak and the fact that he trusts me to make this work. What is your plan if the trust is broken and he just … won't listen to me?"

"I already called Noh," he said. "He's on standby if Sying decides to run to LA — or if we need him here."

"And did you talk to Logan about this?"

"No, I'm talking to you about this," Scott said.

"I get that," she said, nodding her head. "But … he can take a more educated guess on how he'll react. He _is _his mother."

"That's what Kitty said," Scott agreed. "The meltdown in Chicago was absolutely something Jubilee would have done at his age."

"And what would Jubilee have done if you cornered and trapped her?"

Scott gestured to K. "Melted down," he said. "And Logan would have talked her down — which is why I'm coming to you."

"Alright, but that was the immediate way to deal with it — and I don't remember hearing about him being the one to set her off in a scenario like this."

"I know," Scott said. "And if you don't want to be the one to collar him, I can ask Logan-"

"I didn't say that," she told him. "I said I wanted a backup for your backup. I think the plan is sound as is — for the immediate future. But I also know that he's not entirely his mother. And considering how he handled the whole unrequited love thing? I think you're right. He'll run as soon as he can. But that doesn't mean he'll run to LA."

"He won't run to space either," Scott pointed out.

"No, so it's just the rest of the globe to consider."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "You really think he'll go somewhere he doesn't have family? He's got enough of his dad in him that I thought he'd want the support."

"I did around that age. Why not?" K asked. "You just go when you need to go and figure out the rest later."

Scott frowned at her for a second. "Alright."

"I'm not saying no," she repeated. "I just want you to run it past Logan to make sure that all the means of catching him are where they should be. You have a good plan. I just want a backup." She paused. "And I will back you up in asking for it if you do the talking."

He smirked the slightest bit. "You don't have to. But you should be there to cover all the bases."

"Is that your way of saying you don't want to talk to Logan?"

He rolled his eyes. "You only think you know everything, K," he said as he got to his feet.

"I only know that it burns you when I'm right," she replied, following suit.

"I'm _saying _I don't need your help to talk to my team," he said, rolling his eyes again.

"No, but you might need it talking to my husband." She had to give him a little smile. "Learn to take the offer sometimes. Even if it's not your idea."

He shook his head at her as they headed back inside, though they found Logan not too long after that with the bamfs trying to get into his six pack while he watched the hockey game.

"Logan, you have a minute?"

"Sure," Logan said before he growled at the nearest bamf, who fell apart laughing when K took the beer from Logan that he was trying to steal. "What's goin' on to get you two lookin' like that?"

Scott tipped his head for Logan to follow him somewhere the kids wouldn't be able to eavesdrop, and once they were in the War Room, he let out a breath. "Did Kitty talk to you about Sying's test?"

"Briefly," Logan said, nodding.

"Then you know he melted down when she threw Shi'ar at him."

"I know he's nowhere near ready to do my test," Logan said. "At all."

Scott nodded. "I don't think he's conscious of how bad it is," he said. "And before I'll let him anywhere near my test — let alone yours — he needs to know. _I _need to know how bad it is."

Logan nodded, but frowned as he watched K take a few steps closer to Scott — subtle, but clearly K's means of letting Logan know quickly and silently that she agreed with Scott. "What's your plan?"

"I'm going to get him in the Danger Room and set up a sim and have K put him in an inhibitor collar," Scott said frankly. "It won't even be a sim on Chandilar. I need to know if it's more than just the Shi'ar, and I think _that _more than anything else would do it."

"So if you two are in agreement, what am I missing?" Logan asked, watching both of them.

"He's going to melt down, and he's going to run," Scott said frankly. "You know Jubilee — so we need backup."

Logan shook his head lightly. "Might not. Might just hide instead. She did that more than she ran, if you're looking to compare the two of them."

"He still hides on the ceiling," K said with a nod.

"He's been spending all his time in the hangar," Scott agreed.

"I know," K said. "With his headphones in his own little world."

"Either way — if he runs or if he hides," Scott said, "we need to make sure we take precautions, make sure he's not going to spiral."

Logan nodded and thought it over for a few moments before he turned to K. "Put a couple trackers on him when you put the collar on him."

Scott nodded. "I'm not running it until after Halloween," he said. "I'm not doing this to him before his birthday, not on top of everything else."

Logan nodded at that. "Anything else?"

Scott shook his head. "Just be ready for when he does melt down. He trusts you two more than anyone else — so I wouldn't be surprised if you're doing the heavy lifting here to help him once he finally confronts this."

"Sure," Logan said. "_You_ should take a break before you fall over."

Scott waved his hand at Logan. "I'm fine," he said.

"You'd be more fine if you had a beer and yelled at the opposing team," K suggested.

"I'm _fine_, K," Scott said, shaking his head at her.

"I know … that's why I said you'd be _more_ fine," K said, shaking her head in the same manner. "It's like I'm in an echo chamber or something."

Scott let out a little scoffing noise before he went to the door. "I'll see you both later."

K waved with the tips of her fingers as Logan pulled her closer by her waist, not in the mood to wait for him to leave entirely before he got affectionate.

"It's like he just wants to _use _us," K said, loud enough for Scott to catch, before Logan shook his head and kissed her to change the subject. Which, as always, was surprisingly effective. K bit her lip when the kiss ended and looked past him at the ongoing but muted hockey game. "So … do you really wanna watch hockey, or do you want to just lock the door and hide?"

"Just the start of the season," Logan replied with a smirk. "Plenty of time to watch Calgary lose."


	8. The Crew of the Starship Enterprise

**Chapter 8: "The Crew of the Starship Enterprise"**

A few weeks out from Halloween, Krissy had been surprised by an email from _Nolan_, of all people, who had sent her a few pictures of Elin by the tidepool in LA, which was just… monumental. But considering the look on Ael's face as he held her hand and pointed out everything to her, Krissy knew it would have been hard for Elin to turn him down anyway.

_Hey Krissy, it's Nolan _— _I stole your email address out of Elin's phone. If I'd known she was being so INSANE and not sending you anything, I'd have done it for her from the beginning of school. _

_And she really didn't want to share anything with her in it _— _so … here you go. I'll see if I have anything else I can send you. _

"Huh," Krissy said, tipping her head to the side as she read through the email. It was totally unexpected, especially because she couldn't stand the guy.

But it was an undeniably sweet gesture, and she found herself smiling as she looked through the pictures. So maybe he wasn't evil…

She shook her head as she started her reply.

_Nolan -_

_THANK YOU. I've been going out of my skull worrying about my best friend. It's good to know she's doing alright and that she's even gone out to the beach. That's kind of a HUGE deal for her _— _don't know if you knew that._

_THANK YOU again. _

_~Krissy_

_PS: I'm going to send an email to the whole group, but I'm trying to organize a group costume? Pretend to be surprised. But if by some MIRACLE she goes with it, we're doing Star Trek. (Kirk, Uhura, Spock, and Bones are all taken… Charlie is trying to decide between Nurse Chapel and being a Romulan just so she can bug her brother the whole time.) So… if Elin runs with it, maybe you can do it too. _

Krissy shook her head as she sent off the email. That was totally not what she had expected out of the day, but alright….

She pulled up the group email to organize her thoughts.

_So guys,_

_The Halloween dance is coming up, and even though everyone's so far apart, I think it would be fun if we did a group costume. _

_So… If me and Chance do Captain Kirk and Uhura, I think Sying would be the BEST Spock. And James can totally rock a grumpy Bones (you know you wanna yell 'Dammit Jim' at Chance, James. You know you wanna). _

_Charlie's still trying to decide on a costume, but if she doesn't take Nurse Chapel, I think you'd be great, Elin. But I also think you'd be a great Scotty or Checkov. Mostly because I kind of want to see you telling everyone what was made in Russia._

_Anyway, if anyone has ideas for different characters, let me know, but I just thought even though we're all spread out, it would be fun to do something together, you know?_

_~Krissy_

* * *

When the "fall formal" costume party did come around, Charlie had ultimately decided to be Nurse Chapel, but it was Kari who stole the Checkov costume — and insisted that Cody should be Sulu.

"I thought about Geordi, but he's in _Next Generation_," she teased him, tapping the side of his glasses.

"You're hilarious."

"Yes, I am," she said primly, brushing off the shoulders of her yellow uniform before she flounced off to go catch up to the others. The kids from Chicago had already arrived, and of course James was already totally in character as Bones, grumbling at Chance's Captain Kirk as Krissy giggled delightedly in her miniskirt — especially when Chance couldn't help but laugh at James.

It was even worse when Gerry would come up in his red uniform, completely serious, and yell, "I'M GIVIN' IT ALL SHE'S GOT, CAP'N," in Chance's face and then just walk away — which had Krissy breaking down laughing and holding onto Chance's arm for support, not that he was much help when he was doubled over laughing himself.

Sying's Spock costume was, of course, perfect, right down to the painted eyebrows and the pointed ears. And he was surprisingly good at keeping a straight face with a perfectly flat "Fascinating," to everything James said.

Krissy was beside herself laughing at the whole thing.

When the LA kids got there, both Melody and Celeste had joined in the fun — dressed as twin aliens of their own design that just _happened _to throw glitter at people, because they had decided that their mother was a genius.

As it turned out, Nolan didn't go — he was invested in a paper he wanted to have perfect when it was due Monday, and he said he was glad to give Elin a little space to meet up with her friends — though she wasn't exactly easy for them to spot right away considering she'd let Jubilee help her with her costume and had cut off all of her hair again in a pixie cut on the plane over so that she'd have a few more hours with super short hair to complete the look as a nameless redshirt crew member.

When Krissy _finally _realized that it was Elin, she teleported right over, her eyes wide and her grin wider. "_Mein Gott, _Elin! You look amazing!"

"You've hit your head," she said, running her hand on the back of hers. "It's already growing out."

"I love it!" Krissy clapped her hands together. "Oh, but we already let Gerry be Scotty…"

"I wasn't going as Scotty," she laughed. "I know all the characters were taken."

"So… Riker?" Krissy guessed, wrinkled her nose. "Wrong uniform."

She shook her head and gestured to her shirt. "Nope. Just a red shirt."

Krissy paused and then burst into delighted laughter. "Oh, please, _please _just… randomly fall over in front of the boys. It will make my _day_."

"I'd rather not," she said. "You're the actor, remember? Not me."

Krissy let out a dramatic sigh. "Fine, but you're really not getting into character here," she said.

"Oh, _fine_. I'll go die."

"Get Gerry," Krissy suggested. "He'll be properly dramatic about it."

"I'm not getting Gerry. Sying would be more logical about it."

Krissy giggled. "He'd just stand there and say something perfectly straight-faced." She paused. "Or maybe try to mind meld with you in your 'last moments'..."

"As long as it's not around James. He'd throw me over his shoulder and run. You know. Gotta take dramatic measures."

"Gerry will just start yelling at Chance that we're taking heavy fire or something," Krissy giggled, looping her arm through Elin's.

Elin shook her head with a little smile. "Or … none of them will get it and we'll be very disappointed."

"Oh, count on Sying then. He's a smarty pants," Krissy said. "And you two are starting to share a brain anyway."

"We really aren't," Elin told her. "He's just a little lonely."

Krissy raised her eyebrows Elin's way in the most dramatic fashion possible before she simply grinned. "Alright. Come on then," she said, teleporting herself and Elin over to the group.

As soon as they reappeared, Elin just … collapsed, even before the smoke cleared. At first, a couple of the kids looked concerned, but seeing as Krissy was giggling, to their credit, they didn't freak out too badly. It was Sying that caught up first, though, and looked right at Chance. "Captain, it appears we've lost another red shirt. May I suggest not piloting the _Enterprise_ like a space pirate on Kitson cookies."

Which really just had Krissy on the floor laughing at Chance's "oh come on."

"Oh, that's just … not at all likely," James said, peeking down at his sister. "She's probably a spy. That seems to fit better."

"Yes, Romulan spy," Kari agreed. "Of course, the inwention of espionage was begun by a little old Russian lady from Leningrad."

Elin opened one eye to look toward Kari before she whipped one leg around to knock James and Chance both over, though Sying just barely missed going with them. "You're horrible."

"Ah, but you took down my keptin," Kari giggled, still in her heavily accented Russian voice.

"Like it's hard," Elin laughed, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Especially when you play dead," Chance teased.

"So, where is your wessel?" Kari asked, still giggling.

"Hitched a ride with a Kree trouble runner," Elin replied.

Sying let out a laugh and nodded along before he caught himself. "Ah yes. Very logical."

Kari laughed as she and Krissy helped the boys to their feet and Sying offered Elin a hand — if she wanted it. "Tricky red shirt," Chance teased once he was one his feet again. "I like the hair, too. It's a good look."

"I wasn't going to dress up at all, but Jubilee insisted," Elin admitted.

"Well, I'm glad she did," Sying said with a smile, dropping character for a moment. "That was hilarious."

"Which part? The fall or the fact that everyone needed you to spell it out for them?" she asked.

"Yes."

She shook her head and looked across the room. "You can thank her yourself; she's reloading the twins with glitter."

Sying grinned at that and kissed Elin's cheek before he zipped off to go say hello to his family — though he hadn't been gone more than a few seconds before an identical Sying-Spock joined the party with a genetically troublemaking smirk that even shapeshifting couldn't hide.

"Well, this looks like a party," Zoe-Sying said.

"If I'd known you were going to dress up as someone, I'd have just paid you to be me," Elin told her quietly.

Zoe grinned and shook her head. "Are you kidding? You're not around enough for me to get your look yet. I can barely do Sying and Gerry. I can't even _start _on Krissy with all that fur, and she's in almost all my classes."

"Well … maybe I can hire you for next time," she replied.

"I'll let you know my going rate," Zoe said with a smirk before she shifted into Gerry just to get her big brother laughing when she got in his face with a perfect imitation of his Scotty impersonation.

Krissy just about fell apart laughing as Sying came back to the group. Most of the rest of the student population was out on the dance floor, so he tapped Elin on the shoulder. "I don't have a date — will you be my pity date?" he teased, holding out a hand.

"Sounds like you're already taking pity on me," Elin pointed out. "But at least you have people interested here."

Sying laughed at that and led her out to the dance floor. "Wrong on both counts. _You_, Aunt Elin, are saving my skin from a party of loneliness."

"Only because you're not looking around," she pointed out. "There is a little blonde at my nine o'clock that looks ready to spit poison at me right now, a redhead at your six … and a fun looking scaled girl that you'll see when you spin me." She let out a little sigh. "However, I actually am alone tonight. So."

"So I'd much rather spend time with my aunt than with girls who stare and don't introduce themselves," Sying teased.

"They don't know me," Elin said, shaking her head. "And they are madly jealous. Look at them. Try smiling and see what happens. Most girls like to be chased — not to do the chasing."

Sying looked like he very much didn't believe Elin, but he did spin her and caught the little redhead looking at him. He was surprised into a smile that she returned broadly, and he glanced back at Elin with shock painted all over his face.

"I'm sure there are more, if I took some time to look … those are just the most obvious three." She gave him a little smile. "You're a good-looking sparkly maple sugar lump."

He let out a laugh and shook his head. "That's weird."

"I didn't say I thought you were hot," she clarified with a laugh. "But look in a mirror. You _are _cute. You take after both of your parents, after all."

He couldn't help but smile a bit at that. "Just think how handsome I'll look in a uniform," he said.

"Stunning," she agreed with her nose in the air. "It's not your fault some people are blind."

Sying laughed as the song came to an end and he hugged Elin. "Favorite aunt," he said with a warm smile.

"Go ask one, please!" Elin said, heading off of the dance floor herself.

"Alright, but save a dance for me when my poor heart is broken!" he called back.

"Like I have any takers anyhow," she said, shaking her head at him.

But she didn't even make it off the dance floor before Gerry caught up to her and lifted her into the air to spin her around. "Whoa, hey, us red shirts gotta stick together!" he teased.

"Oh, you got it wrong," she said with a smile. "I'm an extra here for the weekend."

"Hey, wouldja look at that, me too," he said, still leading her out onto the floor.

"Are you going out for the team too, one of these days?"

Gerry laughed and gestured with one hand so that the two of them were surrounded briefly by a rainbow. "Oh yeah. I'm terrifying."

She cringed dramatically. "You really really are. All that sunshine. Yikes."

He laughed again and spun her out on the floor. "I don't think so. I really just want to go into medicine."

"Well … you know. If you change your mind …" She shrugged. "I wouldn't mind helping you prep."

"That's an amazing offer, and I know how _good _of an offer it is? So I'm just gonna have to kiss you now," he teased, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "It's much appreciated, but I swear, I just want to be a doctor. Leaning toward cardiology, actually, but hey, I'm only a sophomore."

"That's great, though," she said, nodding. "We could use another great doctor around."

He nodded. "You mean when Dr. Fuzzy and Blue finally retires?" he teased. "Before or after Scott gives _him _a heart attack with his own nonsense? Which I know nothing about, obviously."

"Obviously," she agreed. "But yes. When Fuzzy and Blue goes off to retire with his Daisy in a field full of flowers and a white picket fence. Yes."

"Well, I don't think I can write "Xavier Institute" on my residency, but…" He grinned. "He and Tyler have been great helping me plan out my track. I'm already taking some AP classes to knock it out once I get to college."

"You're so … _organized_," she said, scrunching up her nose.

"Oh no. That's all the McCoys. I just ask them what I should do, they plan my life, and I run with it."

"Yeah, but you know what you want to _do _when you're all grown up and out in the world. That's … kind of wild."

He grinned. "Well, I _am _older than you," he pointed out. "By almost, what, three years?"

"Something like that," she said, nodding.

"So, hey, I think I'm allowed to be a little ahead. Plus, you know I've wanted to be a doctor since I was, what, three? Sort of like Chance and the team."

"Yeah, and that's what I mean, though," she said, losing some of her smile.

"Well, not everyone has that," Gerry assured her. "You know, I was just talking with Lottie over there about how she wanted to be a concert pianist when she was a kid, but now, she wants to do something with English with all the reading she does — or maybe she wants to learn psychology… She's got about five different life plans, and the Summers freakout over Plans A through Z for _five different life plans _is a thing of beauty, my friend."

"Ridiculously organized," she agreed. "And James is all … _James._"

"Oh yeah," Gerry said, nodding along. "What must it be like to have an adorable prankster of a sibling?"

"I don't know — how's Zoe again?"

He grinned wider and laughed. "Hopefully impersonating one of the teachers. She said she was going to _try _to pull off Scott and walk up to Logan looking all super serious? And I made her swear to tell me before she does."

"She'll never make it," Elin said shaking her head.

"It's purely for the entertainment factor," Gerry laughed. "And she's been working hard on not giving herself away laughing."

"She'll get it eventually," Elin agreed.

"And in the meantime, we can all laugh at my dad's face when she turns into me or Nikki."

"She said she won't even _try _to pull off me," Elin told him.

"Well, she actually has a harder time with girls," Gerry admitted. "With guys, it's a much more dramatic shift. Several feet sometimes…"

"Well … she should have it easier tonight, then — I look like a boy, after all."

Gerry laughed and nodded. "Yes, but you aren't fully equipped, and boy, is _that_ a conversation I never thought I'd have with my dad and my sister."

"So … did they not get the whole boy parts-girl parts talk when they were little?"

Gerry laughed. "Yeah, but apparently Dad didn't think the shift went that _far_."

"So he was mad that her handwriting in the snow will be better at the pissing contest?"

Gerry stopped for a second and then burst out laughing, leaning on Elin for support and guffawing heartily. "Oh yeah. That's it. For sure."

"I've seen how you guys are in the bathroom. You'd think a Hawkeye could aim … but no."

"Peeping Howlett," he laughed.

"Please," she laughed along with him. "Like there's much to see."

"Oh, you are just so wrong, and I love you for it," Gerry said, still halfway leaning on her as he laughed.

"I gotta do something for entertainment, right?"

"You should take up knitting," he gasped out, still laughing.

"Oh no, I'll leave that to the ones that aren't joining the team. If I pick it up, you'll know I'm quitting."

"I didn't know knitting was a litmus test for team membership," he chuckled.

"It is when your primary duty in the team is punching people in the face," she replied.

He grinned at her. "Sounds fun, especially if they're particularly annoying." He lifted her up into a spin and set her back down. "If I ever joined, I'd help with that. Super strength and all."

"You would," she agreed. "You can hit the ones that won't go down for me."

He grinned. "It's a plan. I'll knock 'em into the ballpark." As the song came to an end, he made sure to toss Elin and catch her, still grinning. "Don't be a stranger, alright? That was hilarious — but I'm going to go catch Lottie while I'm in a good mood, let her mooch for a while."

"Have fun," she said as soon as her feet hit the ground.

"You too," he said, grinning as he headed off to go find Charlie.

Elin watched him go and bit her lip as she looked out into the crowd, searching for Sying. When she saw him, he was twirling with the little redhead and looking like he was having a lot more fun than he was before they danced. It looked like he was teaching her how to do something a little more than just spinning in place, too, which had her _beaming _at him the whole time.

She looked around the dance to see where everyone was and how they were all doing before she let out her breath and decided to head upstairs. There was a team practice the next day, and she knew they were all taken care of at this point.


	9. I'll Never Be an X-Man

**Chapter 9: "I'll Never Be an X-Man"**

"Alright, Krissy, you're up first," Scott said to the two kids waiting outside the Danger Room for their tests.

Krissy was surprised to hear it; she and Sying had been trading off this whole time, and it was his turn, after all. "Sying can—"

"I have to set up something different for Sying than for you," Scott told her.

"Go ahead," Sying assured her with a smile, and Krissy bit her lip before she let out a sigh, nodded, and slipped into the Danger Room after Scott.

She was surprised, though, when the sim came up and Scott stayed in the room with her as it simply… became the War Room.

"What's this?"

"Normally, this is where I'd hold the first part of my test," Scott explained as he gestured for her to sit down. "The War Room is where we do most of our planning and debriefing anyway, so you should get used to it."

"And we couldn't just go to the War Room because…"

"Because I had other things come up, and it's better if we keep everything contained to the Danger Room for the time being," Scott said evenly.

Krissy shrugged and dropped into the chair next to Scott. "Alright, so, are we debriefing?" she asked.

Scott shook his head lightly. "I wanted to ask you a few questions first before we move forward — to make sure you're ready for the team." He watched her carefully. "I do this for everyone, alright?"

She nodded. "I figured as much."

Scott almost smirked at her perfectly open expression before he jumped into it, though he didn't get much farther than the first question before it was already clear this was going to be different. "Why do you want to be an X-Man?"

"Because it's fun."

Scott stopped and looked up at Krissy. She was perfectly serious, watching him with her tail swaying lazily behind her, and he had to shake his head and rub his forehead. And he'd been hoping that this would go easily ahead of Sying's "test." "Krissy…"

"I know it's not all fun and games," Krissy assured him quickly. "My best friend was traumatized last year, Sying was tortured for a _month_, my grandfather tried to use me as a power drain…" She gestured down at the purple fur on her arm. "I know it's not always fun. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it when it's not crashing down on us."

"Krissy, the team isn't a social club," Scott said sternly.

"I _know_ that," she said, perfectly earnestly, before she let out a breath as if Scott were being the unreasonable one here. "But I think people should do things that they love. Gerry loves medicine, and Kari loves drawing. _I _love sword fights and archery." She mimed pulling back a bow as she spoke. "And you can't tell me that's unreasonable, because both of my parents _love _being X-Men."

He shook his head. "And I'm not disputing that. But the team isn't always going to be fun. We face some heavy things, Krissy. This isn't like fighting pirates in the Danger Room."

"I know," she promised. "But you asked me why I _wanted_ to join the team, and I told you the truth. I really do love fighting and adventure. And if that comes with tragedy, I'm willing to deal with that too. Everything comes at a price." She folded her hands in front of herself and looked him in the eye. "That's what my papa says: you have to take the good with the bad."

"And when it gets too hard?"

Krissy shook her head. "I'm not going to give up on something just because it's _hard_," she said with a sniff. "Mama told me it took her a long time training with Logan before she was an X-Man, so I know I still have to work hard."

"That's not what I meant," Scott said. He let out a breath. "Krissy, you still have to take this seriously."

"You think I don't?" She leaned back and folded her arms. "You think because I'm not super serious all the time I don't know what I'm doing — but you don't tell Jubilee that. You don't tell that to my mother." She tipped her chin up a bit in a move that looked just like Kate. "I'm not sorry that I find _joy _in everything I do, including being an X-Man. That's how I was taught to see life, and I'm not going to stop."

"I think you're treating this like everything else you do: a fun game you can play with your friends," Scott shot back.

"You _asked _me, and I told the truth."

"I know," Scott said, covering his eyes with one hand. "And maybe this just isn't the right day for this." He let out a breath and tried to clear his head for a second. "You shouldn't apologize for finding hope and joy. You're right. But I need to know that you can be serious too, or you won't make it through the next tests."

Krissy looked surprised and then shook her head to herself to rein in her own temper. "I swear: I know how to be serious. I _do_."

He nodded once. "Then maybe we should try this again tomorrow. For me. Not for you."

"Should I tell Sying…."

He shook his head. "No. Don't tell him anything. His talk has nothing to do with this yet."

"But if you're not up for it, then it's not fair to him," Krissy reasoned.

"I can't tell you about that," Scott told her. "But I'm not going to say a word to Sying myself."

"Then can I take this part of the test with someone else too?" Krissy asked.

Scott smirked. "I'll think about it."

"I mean, if you have to put it off for tomorrow, I don't mind doing it with you, but hey, if you already have a sub lined up, why not just knock it out?" She grinned at him crookedly. "We could put on my mom's sim if you're super stressed."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that in a little while," he told her. "See if you can last longer than your mother on that sim without laughing."

"Ooh, yes." She did her best to look like she wasn't grinning. "This is a test of serious skills."

He gave her a crooked sort of smile. "Tomorrow then, right?"

She nodded. "Do you want me to drop you off somewhere?" she offered.

"No, I'll head up when I'm done," Scott promised.

"Suit yourself," she said, though she couldn't help but look a bit disappointed before she teleported out of the Danger Room.

* * *

Sying was surprised at how quickly Krissy's test was over when Scott called him in for his — he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Though he supposed he would find out as soon as he got out of his test;it wasn't like Krissy was subtle about celebrating.

Sying took a deep breath before he went into the Danger Room, though the doors had barely closed behind him before K surprised him, sliding right up to him to snap the collar on — though he hadn't even fully processed that yet, thinking it was part of the test and he had to fight K.

He spun to face her as she took a step back and watched him, but when he started to take a few running steps her way and wasn't nearly as fast as he knew he should be, it clicked for him exactly what was keeping his powers off.

And he just… froze, his eyes wide when he felt like he couldn't get a breath.

"Sweetie, you gotta breathe," K said, taking a few steps closer. "You're safe here."

But it was obvious to anyone watching Sying that he wasn't listening to K at all. His pulse was racing, he was struggling to get a breath, and he scrambled back a few steps before totally reversing course and simply crumpling over, almost hiding behind his own knees in a little ball and shaking crying.

She made her way over in an instant and wrapped him up, not giving him an option to say no when he was so clearly over the edge. She kissed his forehead and went right into trying to get him to settle out and calm down, muttering anything she thought might help to him all the while — and giving Scott a real show from the booth.

It took a while, but K knew she'd gotten him to at least focus a bit when Sying turned into her shoulder and started to cry again, but this time holding onto her shirt with one hand. K glanced up at Scott and then snuggled into Sying, keeping it up for as long as he needed her to calm down. When he did finally start to breathe normally again, he muttered just quiet enough that she was the only one to hear it — and the microphones and cameras wouldn't pick it up with the way he had his face in her shoulder — "Get it off."

She frowned deeply and looked back up at Scott, but it was immediately clear to her that Scott had no idea what had just happened, so she simply acted as if she didn't hear him.

Sying picked his head up a bit, his eyes totally wide an insistent. "Get it off," he repeated, louder this time.

K glanced up at Scott and nodded as soon as she saw the expression on his face. "Of course," she said, gently reaching up to get it off. As soon as it clicked open, Sying visibly relaxed and seemed to try to gather himself, though he was clearly badly shaken.

"Do you need a break?" K asked, one hand on Sying's shoulder.

"Okay," he said quietly, letting her help him to his feet, though they had no sooner stepped out of the Danger Room then he took off — leaving K behind entirely.

Scott came down from the booth a moment later and caught up to K, looking fairly upset himself, before he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I had to ask you to do that," he said.

"You needed to know, and so did he," she replied, her expression thoughtful but flat.

"I sent his tracker GPS coordinates to your phone," he said.

"Give him room to breathe first," she told him. "Give him a chance to come back on his own."

* * *

Several hours later, Scott was giving K a look from across the room, and she closed her eyes and let all her breath out at once. "Alright. I'll be back. Eventually." She checked the GPS and frowned to herself for a moment at the front door before she zoomed in on the pin and very nearly had to laugh.

"Maybe it'll be sooner," she muttered before she headed down to the barn and started to do the chores, singing under her breath as she put the horses away and fed them. She took her time watering them before she started to sweep up the aisle, and then, when Sying still hadn't come out of the loft on his own, she headed up the stairs, not bothering to hide her footfalls.

She took a bale from the far stack and set it against the wall for a chair and took a seat. "Do you want me to come in or leave all together?"

"I dunno. Whatever you want to do," he muttered from where he was tucked into the hiding spot she had told him about before.

"It's pretty simple," she said. "Either you want me around or you want me to leave you alone. It's your call."

"I really don't care, Grammy K," he muttered even more quietly.

"Then I'll stay out here until you decide what you want," K replied, settling in to try to get more comfortable. When he didn't say anything as the sun started to go down, she got up and pulled over a few more bales and pulled out the blanket she kept tucked away before she simply curled up on the bales and covered herself up. "There's a blanket in the wooden crate in the far corner in there," she told him. "Just in case."

Sying was surprised to find the blanket in the little hideaway just where K had said, and then with how exhausted he felt, it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

And he was surprised again when he woke up feeling at least a little bit better - like he could breathe more - and poked his head out to find that K was asleep nearby. He hesitated for a second before he draped the blanket he'd had over her shoulders, though she was already awake by then.

"Did you sleep alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "What about you?"

"Oh, I was fine," she replied. "I like to sleep out here sometimes."

He nodded again and sat down next to her, looking somewhere close to devastated. "I'm not going to be an X-Man, am I?" he asked her quietly.

"Well," she said, shrugging one shoulder up, "not today. But you still have a really good shot. It's not like panic attacks are a disqualifier."

"Grammy K," he said, shaking his head, "you _saw_ what happened."

"I did," she said with a nod. "And I'm telling you: you're not the only one to have a freak out now and again. What's important now is how you deal with it."

"I thought I _was _dealing with it," he muttered quietly.

"It's usually hard to tell until you get in a bad situation," she admitted. "Which is what the Danger Room is for, right? Do horrible things in a safe environment where you can get out of it if you need to."

"I don't know if I can do that," he said, leaning over to rest his head on her shoulder.

"Spend some time with Logan," she advised. "He'll help you learn to deal with this — and he has a panic attack now and again too."

He raised both eyebrows. "Really?"

"Really," she said, nodding. "It's few and far between, but it is very, very ugly."

He let out a breath and nodded. "I… I sort of had one in Chicago. I think," he admitted in a quiet voice.

"The way it read to me was that it was more of a knee-jerk reaction than a panic attack," K told him.

"I guess so," he said.

"Logan said your mother used to do that when she was overwhelmed … and blow out the whole Danger Room. He told _me _that Forge would just hate it when she went in to push herself because it meant tinkering for weeks to get it back to where it was.."

"Yeah, Howard and David had to come in," Sying said. "I guess it goes faster with technopaths."

"Lucky thing that they had those two to work it over, right?"

He nodded and snuggled in a bit more.

She threw the blanket over him too and tipped her head his way. "I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this," she said finally. "But the further away it is, the bigger it seems. Don't keep putting it off, please."

He bit his lip and shook his head. "What am I supposed to do, Grammy K?"

"Talk to Logan; he'll help you get past it," she promised. "And talk to Scott too; he wants you to succeed like you can't imagine."

"You put me in a _collar_," he said, a bit sharper than he meant to.

"And I'm sorry for that," she said. "But I'm not sorry that you know that it's something you need to work past. I don't even want to think of what could have happened if that had happened in the field instead." She turned his way. "And that is not any kind of a Kree what if no-no, so don't start with me."

He almost smirked and then shook his head lightly. "No, I get it," he promised. "The… the 'what if' planning ahead. I just don't—" He let out his breath. "I just … I don't want to do that again."

"You won't do _that _again," she told him.

"Any of it," he clarified.

"I understand," she said. "But even if you decide to give up on ever being an X-Man, you really should find a way to get over the collar. Even if you're not on the team, that is a possible hazard, you know." She gave him a teasing smile. "Of course … you can always ask Storm to teach you how to pick the locks. She keeps her picks in her earrings, by the way."

"I didn't know that," Sying admitted.

"She's a wonderful thief," K laughed. "She picked Remy's pocket just to do it one day."

"I _did _know that," Sying said, some of his smile coming back. "Miss Marie teased him about it for days."

"She's amazing with lock picks, too. And that is a handy skill to have. Whenever you head home with your folks — on _vacation_, not permanently — you should ask her to teach you."

"And in the meantime, everyone here will know I washed out."

She shook her head. "No one here knows anything. Just those of us that were in the room — and, of course, Logan."

"They'll know when I don't have another test coming up with Grampa Wolvie," he pointed out.

"Logan wasn't going to test you anyhow," K told him.

"Because I wasn't going to get past that one."

"Because even if you'd _started _Scott's test, which you did not, Logan would have made you go through something like that — only worse — before taking his test." She gave him a look. "He knows a traumatized person when he sees one."

"I don't want to _be _traumatized," Sying said.

"That's too bad," she said. "You are. And so am I, and so is he — and Elin and James and Scott … and … honestly. The list is a lot shorter if I say who isn't traumatized."

"So you mean I'm just going to be stuck like this."

"Only if you want to be," she repeated. "The whole thing here, like I said before, is that _now,_ it's about how you handle it. If you just accept _this _as your truth, then that's the end. But if you accept it as something that happened and move past it, you will be just fine, and you'll be an amazing hero in no time. But that's up to you."

Sying's response was to let out a little noise and throw his arms around K in a hug to fall apart on her shoulder all over again.

She snuggled into him and let him get it out of his system again, and when he finally started to calm down, she thought it might be safe to tease him a little. "Hey. You wanna steal Logan's Jeep and go get breakfast away from everyone?"

He nodded lightly. "Yes, please."

"Do you want me to tell anyone or let them figure it out on their own?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't planning on coming back at all, so they can wait a little longer," he said with a small smirk.

"That's no fun," she told him as they headed out of the barn and to the garage. "Running alone is boring. And it gets lonely fast."

"You don't have to tell me," Sying said quietly.

"Then you learned already, smart boy," she said before she ruffled his hair and they headed out.


	10. How to Move Forward

**Chapter 10: "How to Move Forward"**

Sying and K got back to the institute a few hours later after a relatively quiet — but full — breakfast, though faced with the prospect of having to figure out how to move _forward _from here, Sying had more or less reattached to K, letting her lead the way down the hall.

He _had _agreed that he should talk to Scott, and he was going to… and then spend the rest of the day with K and Logan, because he just… didn't want to deal with anyone else. So when he passed Krissy on her own way down to talk to Scott — since she had to reschedule too, though he didn't know that — he really, really didn't want to talk to her.

"Are you okay?" Krissy asked, sounding immediately concerned when she saw Sying and K in the hall.

Sying glanced over at K and let out a sigh. "Hi, Krissy."

"Okay, so, who should I hit for you? Because that's a 'no' if I ever heard one," Krissy said, nodding seriously and almost bouncing on her toes.

"Krissy…"

"I'll do it, too," she promised.

Sying shook his head lightly. "There's no one to hit."

"Alright." She tipped her head to the side as she considered him and then nodded to herself. "Well, maybe you could come with me. I have to reschedule my test with Scott."

He frowned. "You do?"

"Yeah." She looked properly sheepish and flushed slightly darker purple than usual. "I… sort of got into a fight with him? He was in a _mood_. All… Donnie Downer."

Sying shook his head at that. "Yeah, don't fight with the guy running the test, Krissy."

"I'll fight with anybody who's _wrong_," Krissy said with a sniff, her nose slightly in the air before she smiled Sying's way. "Anyway, I have to reschedule. Why don't you come with me and you can tell me what's got you all twisted up? If I start another fight and wash out of the test, we can go for ice cream and be miserable together." She grinned. "It's a distinct possibility."

"You know where I'll be if you want to spend a few minutes with Krissy," K said very quietly. "I won't take off."

Sying frowned K's way for a second before he squeezed her arm. "Alright," he said before he took Krissy's offered arm and headed down to Scott's office with her.

"You never did say what's up," she said as they turned the corner.

"Oh." He took a deep breath and held it, though considering they were headed down to Scott's office, he didn't think he'd be able to hide it from her either. "Well. I … didn't do so well on the test yesterday either."

She turned to face him with both eyebrows high. "What? But you're _amazing_!"

He couldn't help but smile at the compliment but shook his head. "I totally failed, Krissy. I didn't even get to the test part of it."

Krissy looked like he could have knocked her over with a feather before she simply grabbed Sying's arm and teleported both of them up to the roof so they couldn't be overheard. "What happened?"

"I just…" He let out a breath. "I … panicked."

Krissy frowned at him before she rushed over and wrapped him up in a warm hug. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know you want to be on the team so badly."

He returned the hug and rested his chin on her shoulder as he muttered, "Yeah."

"Do you want to reschedule with me? You can try again, you know," she offered, letting him go and stepping back slightly. "It's not a 'never gonna happen' unless that gets officially stamped in red on your file, and I don't think that would _ever _happen with you. You're too good."

"Thanks, Krissy," he said with a quiet smile. "But… I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Oh." She watched him for a second, her tail totally still behind her, before she once again wrapped him up in a hug. "Alright. I'll wait with you."

"...what?" He stared at her, for the first time doubting his hearing, especially when she looked so perfectly calm about the whole thing.

"Well, I said I was going to do it with you," she said, still looking as if this was perfectly reasonable. "And I don't want to leave you behind."

He couldn't think of anything to do but just… stand there, blinking.

Finally, Krissy shrugged. "So, let's go tell Scott… unless you wanted to do something else. I can just 'port down and tell him I'm postponing and come back—"

"Are you sure?" Sying asked, finally getting his voice back.

"Well, yeah," she said. "It wouldn't be as much fun without you, and I don't want you to be the only one not going to practice. We can just hang out, fight pirates, go sailing and stuff while the team's having practices until you're ready to go again."

He stared at her and then pulled her into a hug. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Of course I am," she said, beaming at him. "So, are you coming with me? Or did you want to hang out with K, because I'm good either way…"

"No, I need to talk to Scott—"

"Perfect!" Krissy beamed at him and, in an instant, the two of them had teleported to right outside Scott's door, and Krissy was perfectly bright-eyed as she knocked.

Scott had hardly even opened it before Krissy launched into what she had to say, too: "Hi, Scott! I have to reschedule again. I know you said we could do it today, but my friends are too important to me, and I'd rather stay put and help Sying, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Scott said, frowning lightly. "It might take a little time."

She nodded. "I'm only _thirteen_, Scott. I've got _plenty _of time to get on the team."

"You're not wrong," he said, smirking to himself. "But this is almost a full reversal from yesterday."

She shook her head. "No, it's not. I just know what's important. And the people in my life are more important than a yellow uniform."

He nodded to that once. "Alright."

She beamed and nodded. "Thanks!" she said brightly before teleporting away and leaving a still fairly stunned-looking Sying standing in the doorway.

"I swear, I didn't ask her to do that."

"I know," Scott said, still smirking lightly.

Sying nodded and edged his way into the room to shut the door behind him.

"We need to talk a little about yesterday," Scott told him softly.

"I know," he said.

"I'm sorry to have done that to you."

Sying nodded and sat down. "I know."

Scott shook his head at that and pushed forward. "I want to make sure you're alright. Or that you will be. And I'm not sure how you'd like to approach it, but I have a few thoughts, if you're open."

"As long as it doesn't involve getting jumped in the Danger Room on the regular, I'm open," Sying said with a very small smirk.

Scott had to smirk right back at that. "Then you would have hated your grandfather's school."

"Well, maybe right _now_," he said.

"Everyone hated it — teachers included," Scott told him. "The whole school was the Danger Room."

"Yeah, I don't think I could do that right now," Sying said. "I'd blow it up on day one."

Scott smiled outright. "Me too."

Sying's smirk widened a bit at that before he shifted in his seat. "So I don't really… I don't really know what happens now," he said.

"Now, we work on getting you past this," Scott said. "The rest can wait."

"Is there some kind of manual for 'you were a slave for a month'? Because if there is, I think you need to maybe think about what kind of message that sends," Sying said.

"No," Scott said, smirking still. "We don't have any literature on that, thank goodness. How do _you_ think you'd like to go forward?"

"I just… want to be done," Sying said. "I'm not really good at taking things slowly," he added sheepishly. "At all."

"Yeah, I know," Scott said. "But if you want to move past this, you have to slow down. Right now, you're trying to speed straight to 'okay', but you're not there yet. You have to start with where you _are_."

"Where I am sucks," Sying pointed out.

"Yes, it does," Scott agreed. "But you're not going to stay there, and that's the whole point." He leaned back slightly and watched Sying. "What I'd like to do is continue to expose you to things that are linked to Chandilar. We're not going to start out with an attack by Imperial Shi'ar — but we'll work up to that kind of thing." He took a deep breath. "You need to be able to remember it without reliving it."

"I hope you're okay with rebuilding the Danger Room a zillion times, then, because that sounds like you're asking me to keep doing the same thing I did with Kitty," Sying said uncertainly.

"Not quite to that extreme," Scott said with a smirk.

Sying let out a breath. "Alright," he said, then paused. "Does this mean I have to … wear one of those collars again? Because that sucked."

"We'll have to do that again before you can go out in the field," Scott admitted. "With the kind of people we fight, you _will _end up in one if you're on the team. But we'll work up to that."

Sying nodded quietly. "But not yet."

"No," Scott agreed.

"Alright." Sying hugged his arms at the elbows and shifted the way he was sitting. "Can I go now?"

Scott nodded. "Let me know when you're ready."

"Alright," he said again before he got to his feet and quickly headed for the hallway to go find K — since he really didn't want to talk to anyone else.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Chance asked when he caught up to Krissy. He had expected her to come find him after her test with his dad, but when he'd seen Scott before he saw Krissy, he had to go looking and found her negotiating something with a bamf.

She straightened up and smiled his way, waving her hand airily. "Oh, I rescheduled."

"What?"

"Well, Sying is having a really hard time, and I don't want him to feel left out," Krissy explained when Chance looked just as surprised as Sying had. "It's not _his _fault space was rotten to him, and he really shouldn't feel worse if we're all moving on without him."

Chance continued to stare at her for a second before he let out a sort of disbelieving laugh. "You're really something else, Kris, you know that?"

"Oh yes, I do," she said, grinning at him before she turned back to the bamf she had been talking to. "Their classes get out in an hour, right?" The little guy nodded, and she pointed a finger at him. "Okay, you can go play with Kaleb and Kade, but I _need _your help in an hour. It's important."

The little guy nodded and drew an 'x' over his heart before teleporting away, leaving Chance shaking his head.

"What are you up to now?" he asked, pulling her down to sit next to him on the couch so he could put his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, Sying is having a hard time," Krissy said matter-of-factly.

"So you're trying to help him out."

"Exactly." She tapped the side of her nose. "That's what friends do."

He grinned and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Seriously. You're just…"

"Amazing? Yes, I know," she said before she grinned and kissed him outright. "Sorry I won't be on the team with you for a little while, though. I really was looking forward to it."

"Yeah, me too," he admitted. He grinned slyly. "I think Elin would appreciate it if there was teleporting help to get me out of trouble so she doesn't have to do it."

"Do you make a habit of playing damsel in distress?" she teased.

"Oh yeah," he said, leaning back against the couch. "That's definitely what my problem is."

She rolled her eyes at him and hit him in the arm. "Seriously."

"Seriously, I'm the newest one on the team. I still have a lot to learn," Chance admitted openly.

"Thus the survival classes with Logan and K; I know," Krissy said, leaning back so that her head was on his shoulder.

"If you're waiting to take the test, you know it couldn't hurt you to come on a trip or two," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I think my father would just about die if I went on an overnight trip with you with _them _as supervision," she said dryly.

Chance stared at her for a second as the tips of his ears and his cheeks flushed red. "Kris—"

"Yeah, that's exactly why," she said, grinning wider as she poked him in the center of the chest. "Maybe if we brought Sying too…"

"Yeah, careful, or you're going to end up suggesting the resurrection of the 'do or die' survival course, and I'm pretty sure no one wants that," Chance teased.

Krissy rolled her eyes at him again and leaned over to kiss him. "Whatever, Chance."

* * *

Elin was taking a run down the beach, alone when she saw a familiar figure down the beach. In a blink, Krissy had teleported closer to her, smiling at her friend as she wrapped her up in a quick hug and the bamf on her shoulder patted Elin's hair to say 'hello' too.

"I wasn't sure when you'd see a text or an email… ever," Krissy explained.

"I see your texts and emails," Elin defended, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Okay, sure, but I never know when because — that's not the point," Krissy said, waving both hands to stop herself. "The point is, Sying is having a _really _hard time, and I don't exactly know all of the details, but I think he could use some time with his favorite aunt."

"He knows he's just got to call," she pointed out. "We talk."

"Okay, setting that aside?" Krissy said. "My way's faster. And I mean he is _really _having a hard time. By a _lot_."

"What do you want me to do?" Elin asked, hands on her hips.

"Come back to Westchester with me," Krissy said. "Just… surprise him. I think he could use the cheering up." She shook her head. "He failed Scott's test yesterday," she explained. "Because of what happened in space."

"I'm not … entirely surprised," she admitted.

"But it just happened, and he's really down about it, which is why I came to you," Krissy explained. "You always know what to do for him."

"Well … let me go talk to Storm," Elin said. "I can't just disappear on her."

"Just for a couple hours. I wasn't going to steal you for more than, like, the time it takes you to go to the beach."

"I _still _need to talk to her," Elin told her as she headed toward the school. "We have an agreement."

"Alright," Krissy said as she hurried up to keep pace with Elin.

The chat with Ororo was quick, and of course, she had no troubles sending Elin back for a little while. "You don't have anything on schedule tomorrow if you want to stay," she was sure to say when Krissy was still in the room.

Elin stopped and seemed to almost hold her breath before she nodded. "I'll go grab a bag, then," she agreed, knowing that Krissy would let that one slip fast. "Thank you!" she headed toward her room, trying not to allow her grumpy mood to follow her. "Want to help me find a change of clothes?" Elin offered Krissy. "Seeing as you really don't see me out of uniform lately."

Krissy beamed. "Oh, yes please," she agreed.

When they got to Elin's room, next door to Ororo's suite, Krissy was a little shocked to see the vast amount of photos Elin had around the room. Several of the family, of course, but a few sweeping views that were clearly James' work — one from Japan and another of a mountain in the fall, though she wasn't sure where exactly that was — and on the desk were several of her with her friends, both the ones in Westchester (though those pictures were old) and some of her with the kids in LA, too.

"Everything is in the closet," Elin told her as she gathered up her books and whatnot.

Krissy nodded and opened the door to find all sorts of new dresses that she hadn't seen Elin wear — and a few that she'd seen from the pictures Nolan sent. She pulled out a few that were particularly cute and set them out on the bed before she took a second while Elin was getting her toothbrush and stuff to stick a sticky note on the picture of her Westchester friends that said 'love you too.'

"Ready to go?" she asked brightly when Elin emerged.

"Yeah, it's just overnight, anyhow, right?"

Krissy nodded. "I brought a bamf, or this would be, like, a few dozen trips for me, and that is _exhausting_."

"Yeah, and if we did that, we'd need to have a plan on which ice cream shops to stop at all the way back for your mandatory rest stops."

"Oh how well you know me," Krissy said with a grin before she clapped a hand on Elin's shoulder, and their little bamf friend teleported them to Westchester.

As soon as they arrived, Krissy shooed Elin with both hands. "Go on. I'm not going to cut in when I know Sying could use Elin time."

"Right," Elin said, shaking her head as she headed toward her parents' suite. She didn't knock … because … that was _home, _after all. And when she stepped in, the whole group looked pleased to see her. "Hi, Sying."

He grinned from where he had been sitting with K and simply vaulted over to where she was to wrap her up in a hug. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, about five minutes ago," she replied as she hugged him back.

"I didn't know you were coming."

"Well … neither did I, really," she told him before she looked over to her parents. "Krissy came to get me. Storm okayed it. So … I'm here for the night. I guess."

"Go do something, then," Logan told her. "This one could use a little fresh air."

Sying leaned into Elin. "Somewhere with no people, preferably."

"Huh," she said. "Almost like we're related suddenly."

He laughed. "We always were," he pointed out. "I just… I'm not really feeling up to having to explain to everyone that knew I was going to take my test yesterday that I … didn't make it."

"Well … you'll get it next time," she decided as she pulled on his hand to head outside. "In the meantime, you don't have to say anything to anyone. To hell with them."

"I already told Krissy," Sying said.

"Which is why she got me," she agreed. "But just because you told Krissy doesn't mean you have to tell anyone else."

He nodded and then scooped her up to run out to the treeline. When he set her down again, he shrugged. "Sorry; faster that way."

"Fine with me. Impatient travel companions …"

"Yeah… speaking of…" Sying shook his head. "You wouldn't believe what Krissy did when she heard."

"Was it dramatic?" Elin asked.

"Uh. Yeah. And unexpected." He took a deep breath. "She's putting off her test until I can take mine too."

"Well that's nice," she said, giving him a little smile. "And not totally unexpected, I think. She did say she wanted to test with you, after all."

He nodded. "Yeah, but I have _no _idea when I'll take the test again."

"Well … you have motivation to get ready, right?"

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair, which was getting long again. "It's hard not to want to kiss her when she does things like that, Elin."

"I'll bet," she said with a little sigh. "But leave the next kiss up to her, huh?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm not stepping into it again. _Especially _not when she's dating someone else. Not doing that."

"I just meant even if she wasn't dating someone … let her make the move? She likes that. Bossy little elfling."

Sying shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, I'll just… wait, then," he said.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, don't _just _wait. Fill the time! How did it go with the redhead?"

"Penny?" Sying smiled lightly.

"Oh, that's a fitting name," Elin replied, trying to pull the smile back out of him.

"She's nice," Sying agreed.

"So have some fun with her," Elin said. "You can share milkshakes. It will be precious. Everyone will die of envy in the face of your cute."

"Okay, first of all, everyone should die of envy over my cute anyway," Sying teased.

"That's more like my favorite nephew," she teased, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"I just don't think I should be dating someone when I want to kiss someone else. That doesn't make sense to me."

"So don't look at it like dating. Just make friends, and if it moves into something else, then it does. If it doesn't, you have a new friend when other people are busy mooning."

"Is that how things are working with you and Nolan?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Meh … kind of," she admitted. "He's nice. And he's not drop dead crazy funny, but it's pretty easy to hang out with him. Still wouldn't classify it as dating. Exactly."

Sying nodded. "Yeah, I lived in LA and got to know him a bit. He's nice. Talked to me about my test when I was waiting for Krissy."

"He was going to ask Kate how old he needed to be for an internship," she told him. "But he doesn't think she'd consider him."

"Why not?"

"He didn't say," Elin said with a shrug.

"Well, Kamala was writing for Kate when she was seventeen, I think? Sixteen? It was somewhere around there," Sying said. "I thought he said he was in her class."

"I'll tell him to man up and ask her," Elin said. "Big scary Hawkeye."

Sying smirked. "Not like I can talk, seeing as I'm still tongue-tied around her daughter."

"Well, if he's got a crush on Kate, that is an entirely different discussion," Elin laughed.

Sying laughed at that and leaned back against the tree. "Yeah, that would be weird," he agreed. He reached over and hit Elin lightly in the arm. "Thanks for coming out here, Elin."

"If I'd have known, I would have been faster," she told him. "Sorry I didn't check in."

"It's alright. I wasn't really… I was sort of hiding yesterday, so you wouldn't have seen me anyway." He let out a breath. "Your mom was the one to… well. I totally freaked out."

"Really?" she asked, frowning to herself. "She wasn't in my test at all."

"It wasn't… really… a test," Sying admitted.

"Then quit saying you flunked your test, weirdo," she told him with her nose scrunched up. "You didn't even _take _the test yet."

"Well, it was… sort of… related to the test."

"_It wasn't the test_," she insisted.

"It was _a_ test, though."

"But not _the _test," Elin said, stronger this time. "_You didn't fail the test_. So stop saying that you did."

"Semantics," he said, waving his hand.

"Mean everything," she argued.

He shook his head and leaned back. "They knew I couldn't do it," he told her quietly.

"They knew you had issues with something that could have been _horrible _if you'd gone further than Scott," she said. "That's what you mean. It was for your own good, I'm sure."

"Yeah…" Sying took in a breath and held it. "I … I can't handle inhibitor collars, Elin."

"That's okay. I can't handle getting dropped into the ocean."

"Did they drop you in the ocean before your test?"

"No, but if they knew it was a problem, they probably would have."

"Well, I don't recommend it," he said grumpily. "But your mom pointed out that collars… we definitely see those in the field."

"Yes. We definitely do. And we use them too," Elin said with a nod.

"It's just that…" He let out a breath. "I was wearing one for a month. It wasn't sometimes. It was the whole time."

"I know, but … you'll find a way to get past it. I know you will."

He leaned over and wrapped Elin up in a hug. "I miss you, Elin."

"Miss you too," she told him. "But … we're almost done with the semester. I'll be back before you know it. And … James and Dad's birthday is coming up too. So, there is that."

"Yeah." He leaned over and hugged her one more time. "Expect a lot of emails. I'm warning you now. This… Scott's going to make me do sims with Shi'ar until I stop freaking out, and it's just… gonna suck so hard."

"Well I'm not changing it — and Storm lets me check my phone in class. So … it's fine."

"I love Storm."

"She's so awesome," Elin said, grinning finally.

"Sounds like you like her classes, at least," Sying said.

"I like _her_," Elin told him. "When she saw I was having trouble sleeping, she gave me a thunderstorm to relax. You know … the kind with the long, low rumbles?"

"I like those," Sying agreed. "They move through you."

"My room is right next to hers; she's been keeping a close eye on me, I know."

"I'm glad," Sying said. "I know I'm having a nice big freakout right now but… you look like you're doing better too."

"It's easier with distance, you know? These LA kids don't know me well enough to push me, so I can be alone all I want."

"Maybe with a little more distance and time, you won't need to be," Sying said.

"We'll see," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Love you, Elin."


	11. Something's Up

**Chapter 11: Something's Up**

Kamala was enjoying having Elin in her classes — and it was exciting to have Wolverine's daughter around anyhow. Like her parents, she had a tendency to draw attention of all sorts, but so far, she was just … _fun_. But after Elin had been there for a while, Kamala noticed that she wasn't getting into any of the after-school groups that the students broke into. She wasn't participating in class much, and every time she saw her talking to someone new, she was constantly being interrupted by her … kinda-sorta-boyfriend. At least … Kamala could see he wanted to be her boyfriend.

Which was understandable. She was a very pretty young lady. So it took a while before Kamala realized something … was off. She didn't know what the story was, but she'd _seen _the kids at the school as they actively avoided Elin. Which was odd, since she seemed to be the kind of kid that was looking out for others. She'd joined the team, and she was _Wolverine's kid,_ after all. She _had _to be one of the good ones.

The pattern of behavior wasn't making sense. And something about it had Kamala's hackles up, so she paid much closer attention. She listened more carefully when the kids talked — she even reached out to Elin to see how she was settling in — but none of it came together until she saw _one _near-interaction.

Elin was sitting alone working on her English assignment — which was not unusual — when a shy new boy started her way. Kamala was smiling to herself as he watched; it was that clear that the boy had a _serious _crush on her. She held her breath, waiting to see if Nolan was finally going to get a little competition, but very suddenly, the young man approaching Elin stopped dead. Kamala frowned, watching as he stood there for a moment. She looked over at Elin, wondering if she'd warned him off … but no. She was still working studiously. But _beyond _her … Kamala was very sure she'd never seen that expression on Nolan's face before.

Kamala quickly covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at the invulnerable young man chasing off anyone interested in the girl he liked … until she heard their conversation.

"So, have you made any new friends while I was gone?" Nolan asked Elin with a warm smile.

"No," Elin replied distractedly. "I've just been working. As usual."

"Huh," Nolan said in a thoughtful tone. "You know … maybe they'd think you were more approachable if you weren't just ... " Elin looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. "Nevermind."

"No. What were you going to say?"

"You're pretty intimidating, Elin," Nolan said quietly. "And all you do is study, or work with the teachers — half of which the kids are intimidated by. Maybe if you spent more time showing them that you were more … well ... "

"What?" Elin asked, looking honestly taken aback.

"More like a teenager instead of an X-Man." He held up his hands quickly. "You're amazing on the team, Elin. You are. It's … I can't even find the right words to describe how incredible you can be … but … maybe try acting like it's not an indignity to come down to everyone else's level."

"I'm not above everyone else," Elin said, though Kamala noticed that she closed her book.

"You don't want to go do anything with people your own age. You blow everyone off in favor of _training._"

"No one asks me to _do _anything," Elin argued, though she looked shocked to hear that anyone _wanted _to do anything.

"Oh, thanks. That's great. So now I'm no one."

Elin was already shaking her head 'no'. "You know that's not what I meant."

"You sure?"

"_Yes_." Elin was almost breathless in her insistence. Nolan watched her until she reached over to rest her hand on his arm. "You are the only person not considered family who even talks to me here. I'm not trying to diminish that. I really appreciate what you've been doing for me."

He began to smile as he took her hand, though Kamala could see she was hesitant. "Then … make it up to me," Nolan said. "Go on a date with me — a _real _one. And I'll see if the other kids can … I don't know … relax a little bit."

"Maybe they just need time to—" Elin's thought dropped off as Nolan frowned and pulled his hand away from her.

"I don't know why I keep trying to be nice to you when you just want to manipulate me," Nolan said. "You just said I'm the only one here that even _tries,_ but that's _still _not good enough for you to even … _pretend _to have some fun."

"Mom!" Bashir called out as he turned the corner. "Mom, I need to show you what I learned in gymnastics! It's so cool! And I can do it on the ceiling too!"

Kamala found herself torn from the discussion between Nolan and Elin for a moment as the two teenagers got up and walked off — though she couldn't see who was following who, so she wasn't sure if Elin had let him have it or not … but she _knew _that Elin was lonely. And had more or less been isolated since coming to the West Coast. She just didn't know if Nolan's little tactic had worked until she _thought _she saw Elin apologizing to Nolan … and a few minutes later, they were headed off together hand-in-hand.

But that couldn't possibly have been right. Elin had been so adamant about not dating Nolan, so … how did he manage to guilt trip her into apologizing to _him? _She had to be missing something. But before she said anything to anyone more adult than she was, Kamala decided to _observe_. She wanted the full picture before she brought this to someone Elin trusted.

* * *

That weekend, Sying went back to LA — not just because he wanted to get away from everyone for a while but because he knew he had to talk to his parents about how the test had gone. He'd been saying since he was a kid that he was going to be an X-Man as soon as he was old enough, and while he'd definitely had some doubts right after what had happened on Chandilar, he'd felt like he was getting back his old confidence.

So he wasn't exactly looking forward to telling his parents that he _couldn't _take the test. Jubilee had been an X-Man when she was so _young_, and Noh had always said Sying was powerful and advanced for his age.

Yeah, this was going to be hard.

Sying let out his breath when he got to his family's suite and finally worked up the nerve to knock on the door. He didn't know what Scott had told his mom and dad about how things had gone, but when Jubilee practically tackled him in a hug when she saw him, he had to wonder if she knew _anything_ about how badly things had gone.

"Hi, Mom," he said, catching her like he always did. "I guess you missed me, huh?"

"Duh," Jubilee replied. "Can you say the same?"

Sying hugged her back. "Yeah. I missed you," he said, then hid in the hug for a while before he sighed. "Did… did you hear about… um… did Scott tell you how the test went?"

"Well … I mean … we heard you were preparing to prepare to take the test," Jubilee said. "Sorta."

Sying bit his lip and then winced as he glanced up at her. "It… it really didn't go well," he told her quietly.

"Thus the preparing to prepare," she said, nodding her head once. "Don't let one little blip get you down."

"Mom…" Sying sighed. "Mom, it wasn't a little blip. It was… I can't even _begin _to get back on track for the team right now." He wasn't doing a very good job of not looking crushed, biting his lip to keep it from quivering.

"Well, not if you're going to give up first thing," she said as she set her hands at her hips.

"I'm not _giving up_," Sying clarified, sounding insulted. "But I can't even take the test until — until I fix—"

"Oooh, you're so starting to sound like your Dad … all ignoring his own rules on temporal whatever."

"Mom, you're not _listening_ to me," Sying said, exasperated. "I freaked out, okay? I had a total meltdown in the middle of the Danger Room, and I _can't _do anything until that gets fixed!"

"Okay." Jubilee nodded. "Did you destroy the Danger Room on accident? Or melt off half of Wolvie's face? Because those are the kind of meltdowns I had — and still … I'm here."

"I wrecked the Danger Room in Chicago, yeah," Sying said.

Jubilee shrugged. "They'll fix it. It'll give you time to work on it."

"Yeah, but Mom… that's not what happened in the last test." He shook his head. "I don't even _remember _half of — I just sat down and freaked out and couldn't _breathe _and—"

"So … tell me what you do remember, and maybe we can help," she suggested brightly.

"Grammy K snuck up on me with a collar."

"That's kind of rude."

"Yeah, and then I don't remember much until she took it off again," Sying admitted.

"Okay, so … how about you come with me, and your Dad can find out what the deal is — or vice versa."

Sying nodded. "I just… I don't want you to be disappointed," he admitted. "Because I'm not on the team yet."

"Not even possible," Jubilee promised. "You're amazing. You'll only get _more _amazing in whatever you do as you get older. Don't sweat it."

Sying hugged her tightly. "Okay, let's find Dad," he said, letting her lead the way.

"Do you want to go with him or me?" Jubilee asked. "Because I _may _have told him he would be smart to get some good noodles."

Sying laughed and shook his head. "No, I wanted to tell him what happened," he said.

"Suit yourself," she said, taking a better hold on his arm so she could lean on him as they walked. When they found Noh, he was with the twins, encouraging them as they both tried different songs on the electronic piano they had in their suite. But when he saw Sying and Jubilee, he broke into a smile and wrapped them both in a hug.

"It's good to have the whole family together," he said.

"Hi, Dad," Sying said, smiling into the hug before he glanced over at Jubilee, who gave him an encouraging look. "Actually, um, I was hoping you could help me with something."

"Name it," Noh said warmly.

Again, Sying glanced at his mom. "It's just… I sort of…" He took a deep breath, and the next thing he knew, everything came out at once — the whole story. K and the collar, yes, but also how he'd freaked out and ran, how K had found him in the barn, how he was worried he wouldn't be an X-Man - all of it.

By the time he'd run out of words and breath, Jubilee was already halfway wrapped around him, and Noh was simply watching the two of them before he pulled Sying into a tight hug as well.

"I can look and see if your neural pathways were damaged by your forceful suppression," he said, "but I somehow doubt it. This may be a more, well, inelegant problem — a simple matter of trauma suppression."

"It's a perfectly _normal _reaction," Jubilee said. "To trauma. On _Earth._"

Sying nodded quietly. "Scott and Grammy K said the same thing," he admitted.

"They'd know," Jubilee said, rolling her eyes. "Both of them are poster children for PTSD."

"Truer words," Noh said with a quiet laugh before he made sure to hug Sying again. "No one expects you to be made of stone, Sying. We'll be here with every step."

"And I don't think you can name a favorite hero of _yours _that doesn't deal with the same crap," Jubilee pointed out.

Sying nodded again. "I know. It just sucks."

"Yeah, well … you're tough. You'll find a way to work through it," Jubilee said before she kissed his temple. "Or … you can do something else if you decide you don't _want _to work through it. That's totally cool too!"

"But, Mom… the team…"

"I'm just saying: if _you want _to be on the team, you'll get there. And if you don't, you don't _have _to be on the team at all. No pressure from us."

Sying didn't really know what to say, so he simply hugged his mom and stayed there.

* * *

"I don't like this Nolan boy," Kamala said, dropping her hands on Logan's work bench in the garage when she came to New York mid-week for an appearance for her latest book.

"I didn't think you had a problem with anyone," Logan said, watching her with one eyebrow raised. "What did he do to earn the wrath of the amazing Miss Marvel?"

Kamala blushed and crossed her arms as she suddenly felt very much like the flustered teenager she'd been when she'd first met him so long ago. "He's manipulating Elin."

That had Logan's attention. "How?"

"It's hard to explain, but he's chasing off anyone who wants to talk to her in LA and ... I don't know … trying to _push _her into dating him."

"Is it working?"

Kamala shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe? Kind of? I just know that if it had been me, Ami would have taken that boy out back, and I would have been spending every minute locked away."

"That's not the best measure for my daughter," Logan pointed out. "But I'll look into it. Anyone else in LA know about this?"

"I mentioned it to Storm," Kamala said. "But she just got quiet."

"That's bad for Nolan," Logan promised as he walked over to Kamala and rested a hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep an eye on things, and I'll have K work on El when she's home. If she's gonna date someone, it'll be someone she wants to be with."

Kamala relaxed slightly at that. "I was just …"

"I'm glad you told me," Logan said, then tipped his head toward the Jeep. "K's in town with Stark. If you got a little free time, we can go hit the new biryani place in town, and you can tell me more about how things are goin' in LA."

"Yes, please," she replied with a grin.

"Gotta check in a little more often, Mrs. Morales," Logan said.

"I will," she promised, already texting Miles excitedly to let him know she'd be a little while still — there was more to be discussed on the Elin front, and it was clear Logan wanted her to relax to do it. Which was kind of awesome knowing that he trusted her like that.

* * *

Even though Sying had been sleeping somewhat better in Westchester, when he was in LA, he found himself out of sheer habit defaulting to wanting to find a couch in the living room — or maybe that was because he was still so on edge after K had triggered him with the collar.

He was just looking through the movie collection when he heard someone come in, and he glanced up, ready to apologize — before he saw who it was.

"Back to movies, are we?" Ororo said as she leaned in the doorway. "Would you mind if I suggested something that wasn't on Jubilee's mall-child extravaganza?"

"As long as it isn't a sad movie or a romance," Sying said.

"A fair request," Ororo agreed, then she kicked herself out of the doorframe and glided across the room to help pick out something. "Something peaceful, I think."

Sying nodded, rearranging the couch so that she had room to sit with him, waiting until she was seated again before he asked, tentatively, "Did Scott tell you how my test went? Since you're, you know, one of the test administrators?"

"He told me that you weren't ready to continue at this time but that you were planning to work a few things out." She sighed. "I find it rather supportive that he keeps me in the loop on such things."

Sying nodded to himself. "I'm … kinda glad he told you," he admitted. "It makes it easier not having to tell you myself."

"I'd still like to hear how you got to that point," Ororo said. "In your own words, of course."

Sying gestured with both hands. "There's not much to tell," he admitted. "I'm kind of a wreck."

"Perhaps you can tell me about what it was that wrecked you," Ororo said.

Sying let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah," he said, though he was quiet for a long time before he continued. "It was Chandilar. I mean… with Kitty's test, it was the Shi'ar, but all Scott had to do was put me in a collar, and that was it. I… I freaked. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the Danger Room floor, and Grammy K had unlocked the collar." He kept looking at his hands as he said it. "Mom and Dad say I can still be an X-Man, but I think they're missing the part where I'm a wreck _right now_. That's not something they can ignore, even if they're trying."

"They're not trying to ignore that part," Ororo said gently. "They're trying to reassure you that this is something that you can overcome."

"Yeah, okay," Sying said, without raising his gaze. "I really did think I was doing better, though. I was sleeping in my room in Westchester… the training's been fun… it just… took a left turn."

"We all have things that trip us up from time to time," Ororo said. "Often, it happens when we least expect it. All we can hope for is that you keep trying to move forward."

Sying twisted his hands a few times before he glanced up at Ororo. "I'm just scared it won't work," he admitted softly.

"That what won't work?"

Sying was quiet as he thought over his response. "I don't actually remember some of what happened on Chandilar," he said, still speaking in a quiet whisper. "And I don't know how to … I don't know if I _can _get past something I don't know. If that makes sense. But I don't want to remember it, either. Dad says it was my mind's response to everything that happened."

"Trauma is strange like that," Ororo said slowly. "Eventually, you might remember. But even if you don't … you certainly wouldn't be the first of our team not to know all of their own story."

"Yeah, I know my grandparents' stories," Sying said. "And they both told me they still struggle with their trauma. It just feels so… big. I don't know. I'm not saying it right," he said, frustrated with himself.

"It will come," Ororo said with a gentle smile. "And if it doesn't, then you'll learn to move on without it."

"I kind of hope I don't remember it all," Sying admitted. "The stuff I _do _remember was rotten enough."

"You know, your grandparents aren't the only ones with incomplete pasts," Ororo said. "There are others you can talk to should you find the need."

"Yeah?" Sying raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"

"Scott for one," Ororo pointed out. "Remy for another."

"Huh." Sying played with the edge of his blanket. "That explains why … that explains Scott's test a little more, I think."

"Oh?"

"He said he ran the test because I needed to know what I didn't know — I mean, that's what he said after I freaked out and ran away and didn't come back until the next day," Sying admitted sheepishly.

"He speaks from experience." Ororo smiled warmly. "And he won't judge you for not knowing."

Sying nodded, then gently leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder. "I don't know how long it'll take me to be okay again," he admitted quietly.

"No one expects you to be perfect going in, Sying."

"I know, but to hear my parents, it's just so _simple_. Just get over it, and then I can be an X-Man. Easy peasy." He rolled his eyes.

"They're oversimplifying things," Ororo said.

"_Thank you_." Sying sighed and leaned deeper against her shoulder. "Do you mind if I… maybe … call you from Westchester if … if I just need someone who gets it?"

"You can call me at any time," Ororo replied.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you, Aunt 'Ro?"

"Perhaps once or twice," she chuckled. "The feeling is entirely mutual."

"Good," Sying said, readjusting how he was sitting so he could lean on Ororo for the duration of the movie — and for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep before the credits.


	12. How to Check for Head Trauma

**Chapter 11: "How to Check For Head Trauma"**

"Alright, team," Scott said as the team geared up for a run. "That 'boost' drug that's been hitting the streets is starting to be more of a problem. We're hearing about it across the country and in a few others as well, but we still don't know where it's coming from." He looked between Chance, Elin, and Kate. "We're working on a lead, and we've got the name of a dealer — but we don't know what he looks like."

"Oh fun," Kate said with a smile as she nudged Elin's shoulder. "PI work."

"He's toast." Elin smirked. "Detective Hawkeye on the job."

"And her deputies," Kate teased right back. "Encyclopedia Summers and Nancy Nose."

"Just don't try to give me any Scooby snacks, and we'll be fine," Elin replied coolly.

Kate just laughed at that. "Done."

"The goal here is to follow him," Scott said, getting their attention back. "We want to find the source, and he's just part of the larger net."

"There's something to be said here about bigger fish, but I blew my one liners on the detectives," Kate said.

"Pace yourself," Chance chuckled.

"So we're following the smelly drug dealer, right?" Elin asked. "Or do you have some other, more sophisticated method in mind?"

"Follow him if you can, but Kate's going to tag him with a tracer to be on the safe side," Scott said. "If there are any kids involved, those are the priority."

"It's a really easy scent to follow, so even if we need to let him think he's ahead, I can do it."

"Good. Stay in touch with the team, and we'll catch up to you."

With that, the team headed out, with Chance flying and Scott on copilot for the mission — which had Kate elbowing Elin and whispering, "Boys and their toys."

"They do like to play," she replied quietly. "Space pirates and all."

"It's genetic."

"Like everything else," Elin said with a giggle.

Kate grinned at her and leaned back, spinning her arrows between her fingers all the way out until they touched down further out from town where the jet wouldn't be spotted. Kate shot Elin a cocky salute as she went straight to the rooftop, tracker arrow in place in case they needed the backup — though as with all missions with the junior squad, she and Scott were letting the kids run the show as much as possible.

The two younger members had gone on the mission in plain clothes so as not to alarm the people they were looking for, and the two of them were walking down the street at an easy pace, though they really weren't talking about much.

"Okay, I don't know if you know this, but normal teenagers don't walk with a murder strut," Kate teased them.

"Okay, but how do I not, then?" Elin asked.

"Reach deep into your inner actress."

"But I traded my inner actress for the murder strut," Elin said in a hushed, urgent tone.

Chance chuckled and pulled his arm around Elin's shoulders. "Act like you like hanging out with me," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and looked him dead in the face with a perfectly flat tone. "What's my motivation?"

"Your motivation is getting through this mission without the drama teacher's wife suggesting you need remedial undercover acting lessons."

She let out a dramatic sigh and pulled her hand out of her back pocket to wrap around Chance's back. "I was being a pain. Jeez."

"And so was I." Chance grinned and hugged her sideways as they walked down the street.

A few blocks ahead, there was a small gathering of anxious looking people milling around a guy sitting on the front steps of a brownstone. "Oh, that isn't fishy at all," Elin said into her collar, halfway leaning into Chance to cover the tip-off.

"So, what you gonna do about it, Scooby?" Kate asked over the comm.

"Ruh-roh, Shaggy, I'm not sure. Maybe … just walk by and see if it stinks?" Elin shot right back.

"First of all, I'm Daphne. Clearly."

"You are so Shaggy."

"No, no. That's Chance. Because we _can't _take Fred from Scott."

"Well … if you have to be someone, at least be useful and go for Velma," Elin told her.

"But accident-prone Hawkeye," Chance whispered to her with a smirk.

"Guys, focus," Scott broke in.

"I am, I promise," Elin told him. "Trying to look like stupid teenagers, remember?"

Chance chuckled at that. "Yeah, Dad. Get off our backs. I'm taking her motorcycling."

"Woah," Elin said low before they quite got up to them.

"You can hit me if you want," he teased.

"All of them stink," she said in a tone certainly not meant for Chance.

He straightened up, realizing she'd caught the scent, and paid a little closer attention to the group. "So that's… five kids, one dealer, unknown powers and boosts. Fun."

"Let's see if we can even up the odds," Kate said a second before the guy sitting on the steps got tagged with a tracer arrow — and seeing the purple arrow had the skittish kids scattering.

Chance went almost right along with them, pulling Elin along as if they were taking cover; as the kids around the dealer took off, she peeked around the corner to see which way he took off. She waited just a few moments before she darted out from around the building and started following the scent trail at a quickly metered pace. "On the trail," she said in a business-like tone.

"Got your back," Chance said, just a few paces behind her.

They went down alleys and cut through yards on the guy's trail, and as the scent got thicker, Elin was careful to hit the button on the little tracker on the comm so Scott could follow their progress precisely. She slowed the thicker the scent got, and when the guy was in sight, she hesitated for just a moment to hear what Scott had to say. "He's alone," she said quietly. "But I don't think he's taken any of the stuff. The scent isn't right for that."

"You're running things, Elin."

"Alright then," she said before she turned to Chance. "Fast take down — and I'll get his hands back if you can get the cuffs. Sound good to you?" When he nodded, she held up her hand to give him the countdown before they both burst forward to take the dealer down quick in a team-up move that Scott hadn't seen them working on during practice.

She went low, and he went high — and in a matter of just a few hits, the two teenagers had the drug dealer on the ground. As soon as he was face-down, Elin darted forward to pull his arm back while Chance got the cuffs. But when she was reaching to get his other hand back, she just … couldn't do it. He was holding it too close in front of himself, and it didn't matter how hard she pulled; she couldn't get his arm back.

The guy wasn't even yelling, just … pulling. And then, all at once, his scent changed. A heartbeat later, he pulled his arm away from her and got back up, shrugging the junior squad members off before he cracked Elin hard in the face.

Chance barely missed getting hit too, his eyes wide when he saw Elin go down — and stay down, though she was still breathing at least. But when the guy spun around to face Chance, Chance reached for the guns that James and Tony had made for him and hit the guy square in the chest on stun.

The guy went down hard, and Chance was sure to hurry up and get him in cuffs first in case he came back up before he went to check on Elin.

"Elin, Chance, check in," Scott said, seeing as the kids had been quiet for a while.

"Elin's out," Chance said, stepping back after he checked her over.

"What happened?"

"The guy hit her," Chance said. "We took him down no problem, and then all of a sudden, he had enough power to knock her out in one hit." He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure he broke something. Nose. Cheekbone."

"We're coming to you."

Chance nodded. "The guy's down," he added. "I hit him with a stun beam — guess he wasn't invulnerable."

Once Kate and Scott got to where the kids were, Kate made sure to hit the unconscious dealer with a tranq — one that Hank had okay'd to use on those who were high on the boost. "Boys, I can't carry this one," she said, tipping her head at the guy. "I can take Elin…"

"I got it," Scott said, though he was frowning Elin's way at the mess of blood and broken bones.

"I got El," Chance said, scooping her up too.

Kate shook her head. "My heroes," she muttered under her breath as she led the way back to the jet — without anyone to carry.

Once they got back to the institute, they made sure to put the dealer someplace secure before Scott took over on Elin and brought her up to Logan and K's room with Kate and Chance.

"She got a little too involved, huh?" Logan said, helping Scott get her settled in.

Scott almost smirked his way and shook his head. "She and Chance were doing fine until the dealer took a hit of that boost and knocked her out."

"Well, he did a hell of a job," Logan said, frowning at the mess of blood, though the bones were already knitted back in place. "She been awake at all?"

"Not yet," Scott admitted, settling back to wait.

When Elin started to rouse, it was clear she was foggy, since she was moving slowly and didn't seem to realize where she was.

"Hey, Elin, welcome back home. Try not to take all the fun to the face next time, okay? You're too pretty for it," Kate said.

"What?" Elin muttered, still looking confused and frowning Kate's way.

"Can't remember?" Kate asked.

She looked around the room and seemed to frown deeper. "What are you talking about?"

"Y'know, the mission? Tell me you remember you're on the team, because the tests were killer, right?" Chance prompted.

Elin let out a small breath and nodded lightly. "Mmm. Yeah … Magneto kickline …"

Scott let out a completely undignified snort that had Kate raising her eyebrows his way. "Magneto kickline?"

"It was on the test," Scott tried to explain, though he was chuckling.

"There was a _what_?" Chance dropped his chin to his chest. "How come she gets a kickline and I get my butt kicked?"

Scott laughed and shook his head. "Mystique," he explained. "She was disguised as Erik, and you know her signature move…"

"Oh my _gosh_, Scott. I _need _that in our next team session," Kate laughed delightedly, holding her stomach as she started to fall apart in giggles.

Logan shook his head and turned Elin's head his way. "She only attacked like that if you went after her right," he said before he looked up at Scott. "She'll be fine in a day or so. I'd be surprised if she didn't have a nasty concussion if the first thing she blurts out is 'Magneto kickline'. Damn. Even sounds like a head injury."

"Only if you didn't see the tape on her test," Scott said with a smirk.

"I'm with Kate," Chance said. "That has to be in our next team practice."

"Bring the tape up," Logan said as he settled in.

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna need to see that," Kate said, still giggling as she grabbed Chance by the arm. "Come on. I know how to get into the videos."

"After the debrief," Scott called out. "You need to cover for both of you." The last was directed clearly to Chance.

"Your dad is a spoilsport," Kate whispered to Chance, who smirked at her.

* * *

Usually, Krissy would just teleport into Elin's room to see her, but since Chance had said that she was unconscious, she and the boys had come the normal way and knocked on the door to make sure she was up.

"She's still groggy," Logan called out. "But she's talking."

"Oh good," Krissy said.

"More than Magneto kickline?" Chance asked with a smirk, in an obviously great mood since he and Kate had gone to peek on the test tape to see the 'kickline' in question.

"Just a little more," Logan said, shaking his head. "She doesn't remember what happened yet, though."

"It was a sucker punch, really," Chance said. "Hank said the guy was human. Dad didn't even know this stuff _worked _on humans."

"Doesn't matter what he was," Logan told them. "He did some nasty damage."

"I just meant it was unexpected," Chance said.

Logan nodded and clapped a hand on Chance's shoulder as he passed them. "Just don't push for what happened."

"We brought popcorn," Krissy said.

Logan gestured to the bed, where Elin was curled up on her side. "She's not goin' anywhere."

The kids all nodded and headed over to join Elin, with Sying going right for a hug as he sat down on the other side of her from Krissy. "Sorry about your luck."

To their surprise, she didn't try to get out of the snuggles like she usually did; instead, Elin just seemed to roll with it and even snuggled in a little with one arm over Krissy's waist. "I'll be fine. It's okay."

Krissy looked delighted with this development and wrapped her tail around Elin as she snuggled in. "Just think — we want to _join _this team of face-breaking crazy."

"I'll get used to getting my face broken, then," Elin replied.

"Hopefully, with more of us backing you up, you _won't _have to get used to it," Sying pointed out.

"Better me than you," she muttered.

"Thanks, Elin; I really appreciate it," Sying teased.

"You have that little red-haired girl to impress," she murmured with a little smirk.

Sying flushed. "That's not… girls aren't impressed by broken faces."

"Which is why it's better I got broken and not you," she said.

"Nah, I'll take a few for you," he said. "Just not in the face. Girls like battle scars, right?"

"Sying, you don't _get _scars," Krissy pointed out. "You heal."

"Shh. Penny doesn't know that." Chance smirked.

"She knows I heal," Sying argued.

"Yeah, but how much?" Chance said.

"Lucky Penny," Elin sang out softly.

"Oh, that's gonna stick," Chance chuckled.

"Of course it is. It fits," Krissy said primly. "She's _very _lucky if our favorite Kree explorer thinks she's cute."

"The luckiest," Elin said with a little giggle.

"So, when are you asking her out?" Chance asked Sying.

"Woah, hey, no." Sying held out his hands in front of himself.

"Chicken Hawk and Lucky Penny …." Elin said just soft enough for Sying to hear.

"_You're _the one that said be friends first," he whispered back just as quietly.

"Yeah … but I have brain damage so …" Elin said, only that time, it was loud enough for the others.

Krissy shook her head and leaned over to snuggle Elin a little more. "We brought movies."

"Why?" Elin asked. "You don't need to be by me … I need a shower …"

"Well, too late; we already popped the popcorn and picked out the movies, so you're just going to have to put up with us," Krissy said, her tail still wrapped around Elin's middle.

"I'll show you," Elin said before she let out a huge yawn.

"Uh-huh," Krissy said, grinning as she laid her head on Elin's head and Chance started up the movie for the group of them.


	13. Lucky Penny

**Chapter 13: "Lucky Penny"**

Sying was still on edge after his session in the Danger Room earlier that day. He knew that everyone meant well and that it was good to keep trying to expose himself to Chandilar and things related to the Shi'ar, but… he still wasn't at a point where seeing the Shi'ar didn't immediately bring back the memory of what had happened earlier that year, and it was _not _fun to relive over and over.

So, as soon as the session was over, he had intended to head out to the barn again — but he was also pretty well drained. He hadn't _destroyed _the Danger Room, but it had been a rather large and impressive plasmoid — which he once again hadn't meant to do.

So he was in the pantry grabbing some Twizzlers that he fully intended to take out to the barn when he heard a soft "Sying?" behind him and spun around to face Penny, who had her head tipped to the side and was smiling lightly.

"Hey, Penny."

"I'm more of a Red Vines fan," she said with a small smile, pointing at the Twizzlers he had in his hand.

"Oh, well… my mom always had them when she was upset…"

"And are you?"

"What?"

"Upset?"

He bit his lip as he thought about what to tell her. He had said that he was trying to work on getting on the team, but she hadn't been in Westchester last semester, so she hadn't been around for his dramatic rescue from space. "A little bit."

She pushed her lips out slightly and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well, when I'm upset, I go for a walk," she said. "Maybe we could just walk around the grounds until you feel better."

"It's kind of cold," he pointed out.

"I'm from Montana; I don't mind," she said with a smile. "Just let me find my coat, okay?"

Sying nodded and wasn't sure what else to do, so he chewed on some Twizzlers for a while as he waited for Penny to get back, in a warm black coat and gloves.

He didn't quite know what to say as they headed out in the snow and walked around the grounds together, but Penny didn't seem to mind the silence. They'd made it out to the gate and started walking around the perimeter before he finally decided he should at least try, since she didn't even know what was going on.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," she said with a bright smile. "I always feel better after a good walk." She smiled his way. "Especially if the company is good."

He grinned sheepishly and brushed a hand through his hair. "Yeah."

"So, what was eating you up anyway?" she asked, then held up a hand. "You don't have to tell me if it's personal."

"No, it's just…" He let out all his breath. "It's a long story."

"It's a big mansion," she pointed out, sweeping her hand out over the snow-covered grounds.

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Well," he said, wondering what the story would sound like to someone who hadn't _been _there. "I… took a semester off in January to go to space."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up as she turned his way. "What was it like?"

"Actually? It was more boring than I expected for most of the trip," he admitted. "And then …" He bit his lip. "I spent the last month of it as a… prisoner."

Penny stopped, her eyes wide as he turned to face her. "I didn't know that."

"You weren't around last semester," he said. "And it's not really… something I like to talk about."

Her brown eyes were still wide as she seemed to take a moment to gather her thoughts before she rested a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "There's nothing you can do to change it — or me — so… right now, honestly, the reason I'm hitting the Twizzlers? I have to get past it if I ever want to be on the team. You can't exactly be an X-Man if you're scared stiff of Shi'ar."

"And it's been bothering you this whole time?"

"Well, I guess a whole month of crap sort of builds up," he said, trying for a little smirk.

"Yeah…" She shook her head and let out a low whistle. "Well, I don't know anything about space travel, but if you ever want to just… go on a walk…"

He nodded. "I usually bring some music when I go on a run."

"What kind?"

"Pretty much anything," he said. "My dad is an explorer — so he feels like he's got to explore the totality of music."

"He's never going to be able to do that."

"No, but our music collection at home is pretty impressive."

"Do you have a favorite?"

Sying shrugged. "I have different favorites for different moods. My dad used to sing Nina Simone when I was a kid."

"Do you have any Alison Kraus?"

"Yeah, a few songs."

"Well, maybe I'll bring some music of my own next time," she decided. "We can swap playlists."

Sying broke into a grin. "That sounds like fun," he agreed.

* * *

It had been a totally uneventful week for James in Chicago. He and the Starks were trying to map the different wavelengths of different mentally-charged mutant abilities, but frankly, they weren't getting anywhere. After a few days of trying and failing to find ANY kind of a connection, James and Howard had completely given up and trashed an empty lab with a paintball fight.

Of course, all that really meant was that Kitty was actually glad to see him head back to Westchester for a few days. He had to, after all. It was the big joint birthday. James had missed Kurt's birthday due to scheduling, but he was sure to send him a lovely box that burst into smoke and had filled the entire room with an inky black that would have taken some time to air out … all just to say hello.

Some of the chemical combinations that he and Howard were concocting were just … ridiculous. And even Peter Quill was starting to get nervous about what the two troublemakers were going to come up with next.

But he knew that no one knew exactly when he was going to be back, so he used it to his advantage and very quietly slipped into the house to simply sit down at the kitchen table and wait to see who would be by.

He had timed it just right without meaning to. Kari had just finished her music class and was looking for a bite to eat while she did her homework, though that was completely abandoned when she saw James and rushed over to hug him. "Happy birthday!" she said happily.

He hugged her back and let out a little breath. It was nice to not have to think so hard all the time. "Thanks. What's the plan; do you know?"

"The usual," Kari said, still beaming at him. "Annie's making a cake she knows your family won't even eat, Kate's invited a bunch of people, and we'll all probably end up eating all the sugar Annie made while your dad plays pool with my dad and you and I make smoke bombs."

"Oh. I have a new formula for that," he told her. "If you let it dry out, it super concentrates."

"You're going to have to show me," she said. "I've been hitting Zoe with it… well… I've been using it with Zoe so she can complete her 'Krissy' look."

"I sent a box full to your dad …" He gave her a little smirk.

"Oh _that_." Kari burst into laughter. "I thought he was going to _die _laughing. Literally. Just doubled over. It was _hilarious_!"

"So it wasn't too much with the automatic trigger then?" he asked, smirking quietly.

Kari shook her head. "He loved it. Perfect dramatic present for my dad."

"Well … good. When I tested it, Peter busted his knee on a coffee table hard enough that he was limping for a week."

"Oh, poor lamb," Kari said in a perfect impression of Annie but with trouble in her smile.

"Tony didn't appreciate it in his bedroom either. I think he thought he went blind. At least until Pepper started laughing."

"See, this is why I miss you," Kari said. "Zoe's fun to play pranks with, don't get me wrong, but it's missing the _je ne sais quoi _… the James flair."

"You mean the over-the-top 'took it too far' angle."

"No, no. I come from a long line of over-the-top. I'd know if it was that," Kari said with a smirk.

"Okay … then what should we do while we wait for the normal whatever?"

"Well, we don't have to _do _anything if you just want to relax, but … I was hoping you could show me some more pictures. I wanted to show you the landscapes I painted from your images…"

"I don't have anything new," he told her as he put his head down on the table.

"Oh, that's too bad," she said. "I think it's really helping me to get the realism right to have a source like that."

"Well … you can go through the last drive I have from the summer … I don't know if you got the stuff from the trip north."

Kari shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Let's go upstairs, then," he offered. "I'll unlock the drive, and you can pick out what you want."

She beamed at him. "Great! And then you really should see the paintings. I tried to get the light just right, the way you captured it."

"You've been doing pretty good so far," James told her as he pushed back from the table and stretched out. "Probably more fun than taking the pictures."

"Probably," she agreed. "I'm working on sketching people too, but they're a lot harder. I do better with landscapes and color blending."

"I wanna see the people stuff," he told her with a smirk. "And you can tell me who you pick on the most for models."

"Oh, Kaleb, obviously," Kari said with a smile. "He's a show-off, and he loves posing for me."

He gestured toward the stairs. "Well … let's go."

She grinned at that and simply teleported them both up to her room, where half-finished art projects were spread out all over her desk and the finished ones were pinned up on her wall. She pointed to a sketch of a wide-eyed Kade in particular. "This one's the best, I think, but I still need work."

"You're doing great; what are you talking about?" James said with a frown.

"I just can't get the shading right on hair versus fur," Kari said with a sigh. "They're a totally different texture, but I can't get it."

"Then maybe it's not shading but just doing more to the texture?"

"Yeah, I'm still playing with it," Kari said.

"Alright … there are some really twisted trees I think you'll like," he told her. "It'd be good texture practice."

"You spoil me," she teased him before teleporting them both to the Howletts' suite.

"Says the girl with instant transportation," he muttered before he cracked open the laptop that stayed there in Westchester and went through the passwords before opening up a whole folder full of gnarled up trees. "Help yourself. I'm going to lay down and vegetate."

Kari grinned ear to ear. "Thanks, James," she said as she settled into the chair in front of the laptop to go through the pictures.

* * *

The morning after the impromptu Annie-sponsored celebration was of course one that started early for the Howlett clan, as they had decided the entire group needed to get away from everyone for a few days — and disappeared to the cottage K had tucked away. It was the only hideout not in the tropics that was even accessible that time of year, after all, and it was long overdue.

As a point of relaxation, Logan took everyone's cell phones as soon as they were airborne, determined to keep the drama to a minimum if at all possible. And considering Krissy would be texting asking _whyyyyy _they had to disappear when she had plans for fun, and the fact that both Kitty and Jubilee were complaining already about the loss of their little buddies, as they were calling them, the group wasn't arguing the voluntary cut off.

Within a couple hours of settling in, with dinner already roasting away and a warm fire crackling in the wood burner, the little group of ferals all seemed to melt into the place.

* * *

Sying was really getting to hate the sessions in the Danger Room. He absolutely appreciated what Scott and K and Logan were all trying to do, and it was _working _— he knew it was, because that bone-deep terror was still there, but he hadn't blown up the Danger Room in a couple weeks now.

Of course, he wasn't sure how much of that was him improving and how much was the simple fact that it was the end of the semester, and all the teachers were running tests for the kids from all the schools, so there were fewer sessions to contend with, squeezed in between tests where they could schedule it. That was part of it, he was sure.

But that afternoon, he'd run a session with Scott that wasn't just a matter of running a sim that took place in Chandilar: this was a real fight with Shi'ar to see if Sying could do it without freaking out and destroying the whole group with an explosion. So, he had more or less shied away from using any plasmoids for the bulk of the fight — because he really was tired of not only the frustration of feeling like he'd failed the sim whenever he would lose control but also the _exhaustion _afterward until he got some more sugar.

Not that it lasted long when Scott could _clearly _tell that's what he was doing. "Refusing to use your powers isn't the same as controlling them," Scott called out from the booth — which earned him a _look _from Sying, even if he knew he was right.

But Sying figured he could still get through most of the fight without them anyway, since he fought more with his speed and strength anyway — which just meant that Scott was up in the booth gradually increasing the difficulty when Sying still hadn't freaked out but also still hadn't thrown a plasmoid.

Finally, just because he was wearing down and needed to put some space between himself and the Shi'ar to _breathe_, Sying threw out a fairly large plasmoid to knock back the Shi'ar forces and then put his hands on his knees to get his breath back. By the time the Shi'ar were picking themselves up, he was ready, too, and he squared up for the fight — only for the sim to die.

"That was great," Scott said when he came down — as Sying was getting his breath back and sitting on a bench. "Much better control this time."

Sying looked up to see that Scott was smiling outright and couldn't help but match it. "Thanks. They're still … I'm still panicking, though."

Scott laughed and shook his head. "That's fine. Everyone is scared of something. The important part is that you don't let it _stop _you."

Sying nodded to himself and ran a hand through his hair. "Thanks."

Scott nodded and sat down beside Sying to put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard to tell from your end, but you _are _making progress. I think if you watched the footage of this sim and compared it to the one you ran with Kitty, you'd see _leaps and bounds _of progress."

"Thanks," he said, unable to stop the proud smile.

"We've still got some work to do," Scott said, "but I think if you can keep this up, we'll revisit the test after the holidays."

Sying's eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure? I thought… I mean… I still _can't _handle collars. At all."

"We'll work on that," Scott said. "And we won't schedule it until you feel like you're ready. But you really are improving."

Sying sat up a little straighter the more he thought about it and then started to grin outright. "Thanks, Scott," he said before he gave Scott a quick hug and rushed off.

Sying took a quick shower after the session and headed upstairs. He was only listening to one earbud as he headed up, just to have some music, though he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He was actually thinking of heading to the hangar and spending some time working on his ship — it was the best mood he'd been in in ages, and he wanted to share it.

He was almost to the hangar when he spotted Penny coming in from the snow, patting off the white powder from her coat and hat. And before he'd really thought about it, he had run over to Penny to pick her up and spin her around.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Penny asked, grinning when he set her down.

"I just got done with a Danger Room session," he explained.

She laughed and shook her head. "Don't you usually have the opposite reaction to one of those?" she pointed out.

He grinned and shook his head in response. "Not this time."

"That's great news!" she said, smiling wider and wrapping him up in a warm hug.

"And Scott said I could test into the team next semester if I keep making strides," Sying said, after he'd spun her around to return the hug.

Penny's eyebrows shot up, and then she threw her arms around Sying's neck and kissed him outright. He was completely taken off-guard and didn't quite react in time to kiss her back before she had pulled back and grinned at him. "You're going to be an amazing X-Man," she told him, her eyes sparkling.

He grinned outright at her and then decided to just… run with it. He swept her up in another spinning hug and then kissed her right back, still grinning the whole time.


	14. Home for the Holidays

**Chapter 14: "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays"**

The semester came to a close soon enough — which meant that anyone who had a place to go was headed home for the holiday season.

And while Krissy was excited because it also meant that Elin was coming back from LA, she was also completely derailed when she saw Sying saying goodbye to Penny. And it was a much more… involved goodbye than she had realized.

Her eyebrows shot up, and she just sort of… stopped as she watched Sying and Penny before quickly looking away when Penny left and Sying turned back inside.

"What's got you all distracted?" Chance asked as he came to sit down beside her and bumped her shoulder with his.

"Oh, just…" She bit her lip. "Did you know Sying and Penny were…?"

Chance shrugged easily. "Yeah, he took her down to see his ship the other day while I was working on mine and Charlie's. Pretty sure they supercharged the thing with all the heart eyes they were making."

Krissy pulled a face. "Really?"

"Oh come on, Kris, it's not like you've never kissed me on my ship."

"Yeah, but…"

"I think they're great together," Chance said. "I haven't seen him smile so much in _ages_."

Krissy's tail was switching behind her. "I guess I just didn't realize…"

"Come on, Kris," Chance said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "You're not always the first to know this stuff."

"He likes her," Krissy said.

"Well, yeah, that's why he's kissing her," Chance teased, then leaned over to kiss Krissy to prove his point. "Thought you'd have figured that out by now, Kris."

She rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help smiling all the same. "You're a terrible flirt, you know that?"

"Just keeping up with you," he teased right back, which had her laughing and leaning over to kiss him again.

* * *

The next morning, Krissy still wasn't sure how she felt about Sying and Penny. She didn't know _why_ it bothered her, but it did. So, she invited herself to Sying's room to see what she could learn.

She was surprised to see that Sying was still asleep — Krissy was usually the last one awake — but more than that, she hadn't been expecting to find him curled up asleep on the _floor_.

Krissy blinked at him a few times and then sat down cross-legged close to Sying, teaching out to shake him awake gently at the shoulder.

Sying gasped awake and immediately cringed away, but when he saw Krissy — who looked crestfallen to see how scared he was — he relaxed and wrapped his arms around himself. "Hey. Sorry. I was having a bad dream."

"So you slept on the floor?" Krissy asked, all thoughts of Penny completely gone when she saw how vulnerable her friend looked — which was not a word she often associated with Sying.

Sying looked around himself as if he had just noticed where he was and then sighed. "Yeah. I … had an issue with beds when I first got home. I slept on the floor a lot in Chandilar…"

Krissy frowned and carefully reached out to rest her hand on his arm. "Sying…"

"It's okay," he promised, putting on a smile she didn't believe. "What are you doing here anyway? Getting up to trouble?"

Krissy shook her head, but she knew Sying wasn't up to talking about what was bothering him. So, instead, she took his hand with a smile. "You and me are going on a friend date for breakfast," she informed him.

"We are?"

"Yep. We haven't hung out enough, and I miss my friend. Come on!" With that, Krissy teleported them both off, hoping some fun would break Sying out of his head.

* * *

About a week before Christmas, and just a few days after the last of the students had headed home, the mansion was almost as packed as before just by virtue of the Hale clan invasion as Annie's family came from Atlanta, Chicago, and LA to converge on the institute and get together for Christmas.

There was plenty to catch up on with the family as a whole. Mary Beth was showing off her engagement ring _and _her fiance, Alejandro, the guy she'd brought back from Spain a while back — while Leslie Ann was celebrating the end of her schooling and her PhD diploma in the mail. For Theresa's kids: Amon was on the pre-med track in college, taking after both of his parents, and both Mateo and Nadia were on the honor roll… Add to that Chance being on the team, Cody getting better control of his powers, and both Charlie and Chloe kicking butt at chess against pretty much anybody they challenged to a game — and Evelyn Hale had _so _many reasons to do the proud grandmother strut. All over the place.

But for all the exciting changes in Annie's family, there was also the more concerning fact that Douglas Hale, Annie's father, was in his eighties and looking more fragile every day. Which wasn't altogether _too _worrisome in itself except for the fact that there were moments when he simply didn't seem to recognize _when _he was in time.

The first big clue the Summers clan had that something was up was when Douglas saw Chloe and broke into a huge smile as he pulled her up to sit on his knee and called her "Annie."

"No, Pappaw," Chloe said, leaning over to snuggle him and kiss his cheek. "I'm Chloe. But that's okay; everyone says I look just like Mom."

For a second, Douglas frowned and then covered quickly. "Yes, my beautiful girls," he said, kissing Chloe's forehead.

Evelyn let out a sigh and leaned over to Annie. "He's been struggling with his memory for a few months now."

"It's fine," Annie assured her. "It's just great to see you both."

And while the Hale women were sure to shower Douglas with hugs and kisses, Leslie Ann slid up to K with a smile. "So, you made me promise to tell you when I finished school, right?" she said with a teasing little grin.

"I did … is this your official announcement?" K asked as she wrapped her arms around the girl. "Because if it is, you'll get to help me make the glogg this year."

Leslie Ann laughed outright at that. "Then I guess it's official. I was just telling everyone the diploma's on the way."

K grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Congratulations, Dr. Amazon."

"Dr. Wright," she said. "Dr. Amazon sounds weird."

"It is weird, but I had to," K argued. "So … what's the plan here … are the sisters hitting critical mass yet?"

"Well, Aunt Theresa and Nadia took over the kitchen… last I saw, they were ordering Chance and Cody around to gather supplies, too," Leslie Ann giggled.

"Then I'll go see how things are going in there and get a glass of wine," K said. "If they need more help, I'm sure James can kick in too if they need another boy to boss around."

"Well, Amon and Mateo are hiding, but I'm sure they'll get roped in too," Leslie Ann laughed.

K turned toward Annie for just a moment. "Do any of you poor souls need some wine … that's where I'm headed."

"Oh, I wouldn't say no," Evelyn said with a smile that crinkled her eyes.

"Then I'll be back before you know it," K told her before she headed off to watch the pandemonium in the kitchen for a moment. It was exactly as Leslie Ann had said: the boys were hustling to keep Theresa happy.

She slipped through the movement and pulled down three wine glasses to set down out of the line of fire as she grabbed the corkscrew. After peeking over Theresa's shoulder to see what she was cooking, she took a bottle of red and poured up the first glass — and slid it next to Theresa without a word.

Theresa raised an eyebrow K's way before she let out a light laugh and snatched up the glass to take a sip. "You are a life-saver," she teased.

"I'll be back in a while … I'm bringing one for your mother. Does Dad need one too?"

"Oh, probably," Theresa said with a nod. "If you get him good and buzzed, he tells the _best _stories."

K nodded and picked up one more glass. "I'll save that for Christmas or if he's having a hard night," K promised. "The intention here and now is just to take the edge off."

"Well, if he starts asking for Joel, that's his brother, and he's been gone forty years now, so that's always a good benchmark," Theresa advised.

K nodded. "I've dealt with a few older folks with the same issues. It'll be fine." She gave her a little smile and topped off Theresa's glass before heading out to do the same for Douglas and Evelyn. "Hope it's alright I got some for both of you," she said as she joined them again.

"No fun drinking alone," Douglas said with a smile.

"Good thing I won't let that happen around here," she replied as she poured one for herself as well.

Douglas laughed and nodded. "You must have your hands full, party full of X-Men and soldiers."

"Well, I try to make sure they're well cared for when they're not working," she told him with a smile. "And alcohol is such a cheap thing to help relax."

"Looks like they appreciate it too," Douglas said, gesturing specifically to Kurt and Logan laughing together about something or other.

"They are my favorite," she said with a nod. "The one with the blue eyes, of course."

"And not the blue fur?" Evelyn teased. "It's such a subtle difference."

"He's okay," she said. "But I get more focused on the eyes than the fur."

"Does he know you're sweet on him?" Douglas asked with a laugh.

K grinned and held out her left hand for him. "He better know."

His grin widened even more. "Congratulations. How long?"

"Long enough to be used to the trouble," K said with a little smile.

"You'd get along with my Evelyn," Douglas chuckled.

"I might have to borrow her for an evening sometime," K said. "Hope you don't mind too much."

"Long as you bring her back in a good mood," he teased.

She smiled wider. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of bringing her back with anything less than a grin."

"Then I don't see why not," he laughed.

"You're a gem," K told him before she gave his arm a squeeze and headed over to Logan and Kurt to steal a kiss as Kurt topped off her wine glass with some whiskey.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself," Kurt said with a smile.

"Well … you took my whiskey barrel aged red and just made it into whiskey red … that's a fine start, don't you think?" she replied, then tipped her glass back.

"Yes, of course," he said, shaking his head.

"What about you? Looks like you're trying to get me liquored up for your buddy here."

"No, what would make you think such a thing?" Kurt laughed as he topped her off again. "I'm a paragon of virtue."

"You're a terrible, booze-pushing demon, and I approve," she laughed. "But that just means I'm going to have to take him off somewhere, you know."

Kurt laughed again and waved one hand. "Oh no, whatever shall I do if you bring me more grandchildren, daughter of mine?" he teased.

"Die of happiness, likely," Logan muttered.

"I can only hope she takes such good care of me in my elder years," Kurt laughed, indicating a clearly happy Douglas with a tip of his head.

"You'll be spoiled rotten, and you know it," Logan told him. "And yeah, I can see her bringing you booze."

Kurt grinned that much wider. "It's nice to have such a solid and wonderful retirement plan."

"Like we'd leave you miserable and in the cold. Just be aware," K warned. "I _am _liquoring him up for Christmas. I got a little something from Thor to add to _our _glogg."

"And I wouldn't stop you for all the world," Kurt promised. "I'll be with my own beautiful wife anyway — doing more or less the same thing."

"She will also be liquored up," K promised. "I got a special bottle of _Gewürztraminer _for the two of you. Lightweights."

Kurt laughed and kissed her cheek. "And you take such good care of us."

"It's my duty as your oldest little girl," K told him as Logan started laughing. "Though your second oldest is trying to outstrip me for giving you a heart attack, I see."

Kurt followed K's gaze to see that Krissy had snagged Chance under the mistletoe as he was carrying some plates out to set the table — so he was now holding the plates out to the side and had snagged her with the other arm to get more involved in the kiss.

Kurt let out a little noise. "She is … _schwärmerisch_."

"Under the mistletoe … seems like a good idea," K said before she stole a kiss of her own.

"So, I know I didn't just see you taking kissing cues from my teenage daughter, because that is just _wrong_," Kate said as she came up to the group and wrapped her arms around Kurt from behind.

"No, just excuses," Logan said. "She was kissing me before that … I don't know what to call you in this situation anymore."

Kate shrugged. "I have no idea either."

"Golddigger," K giggled. "After my sweet little demon dad."

"Like you can talk, going after my pizza-loving big brother," Kate shot back without missing a beat.

K waved her off. "He is just for when I am so utterly in need of an idiot archer. Which … is never."

"Yes, but he needs you to help him find his baby girl," she teased.

"That's on him — not me," K pointed out. "Like it's hard."

"For those of us without the super sniffer, it is," Kate chuckled.

"Okay, fine. I'll give you that," K said. "You missed the wine. I'm sorry. You'll have to wait until after dinner for the one I have for you."

"Oh, fine," Kate said, though she made it a point to push her lip out in a pout.

"Oh … it's not a red either," K told her, enjoying the look she got from Kate for that one. "But it's still very much like our Elf here … sweet and German."

"Well, that _does_ sound good," Kate said with a laugh.

K let out a sigh when she finished her wine/whiskey combo and took a moment to give Logan one more kiss. "I need more wine. Are you in, Hawkeye?" she asked, already headed for the kitchen.

Kate laughed and stole a kiss from Kurt before she rushed off to catch up with K and threaded her arm through her friend's. "Oh, if you're going into the Hale kitchen alone, you need backup," she teased.

"Oh, no, I'm safe," K promised. "I gave her wine too."

"Ah, I see. You came prepared with an offering."

"Not really. Theresa looked stressed, so I gave her the first glass."

"Ah, so you were calming the hurricane," Kate chuckled

When they got there, Kate headed for the pantry to grab the wine for the table, and K headed over to the sink to rinse out her glass. "Do you mind, Nadia?" K asked, holding her glass out.

Nadia smiled at K and shook her head, stepping back from the sink. "Go ahead. I've just been trying to keep up, really," she said, though the water from the spout seemed to follow her for a second — not that Nadia noticed.

K tipped her head at it for just a second but reached forward to rinse the glass all the same. "In another couple of years, you can get a glass alongside your mom." She swirled the water in the glass and waited until Nadia's head was turned to pour it out — somewhat higher than necessary — and frowned when it, too, seemed to gravitate her way before falling into the sink.

Nadia laughed. "I've already tried some when we were in Brussels," she admitted. "I turned sixteen over the summer, you know, and you don't have to be twenty-one out there."

"It's really not a big deal," K agreed. "In Italy, the kids get a glass with dinner, and in Germany, everyone drinks beer as if it's water."

Nadia nodded. "That's the fun part about having parents who travel," she agreed.

K nodded and reached over to turn the tap on again — this time to wash her hands — or at least to look like she was doing so. "I'll take that bowl to wash," K offered, though she didn't reach for it, keeping her hands near the water.

"I can do it, really," Nadia said as she handed the bowl over, though she frowned when the water seemed to skip over to the bowl. "How'd you do that?"

"That wasn't me, sweetheart," K promised.

Nadia narrowed her eyes at the water and pursed her lips. "Alright, so, who in the school is playing a prank on us, because I really do need to get this bowl washed so we can use it for dessert."

"I don't think it's a prank," K said. "I think it's you."

"Me?" Nadia shook her head. "No, I didn't set anything up like that. Mateo's the troublemaker."

"I didn't say it was a _prank_," she told her. "I think … you're moving it. Which is really cool. Think of the forced shower you can give your brothers!"

"But I just told you: I'm sixteen," Nadia pointed out. "All my cousins got powers at, what, ten? Eleven?"

"Not everyone gets it at the same time," K said reasonably. "Try it out … see if you can move it on purpose."

Nadia frowned K's way and then let out a sigh before she shrugged. "Can't hurt," she decided, reaching out a hand the way she'd seen Leslie Ann do when she was concentrating on moving plants to see if she could do it — though it wasn't until she pulled her hand back when nothing happened that the water followed her hand, and she let out a little squeak of surprise.

"Oh, that's just cool," K said, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.

Nadia shook her head in disbelief. "So… I'm a water magnet?"

"Or something. I don't know what all the terminology is, honestly. You'd have to ask Scott. He's got it all catalogued." K looked across the kitchen, where Theresa and Kate were making the final wine selection. "Where is our fearless brown eyes?"

"I think he was playing chess with Chloe," Kate said. "Last I saw."

"Well, tell him when he's done losing, he should come in here," K said.

Kate snorted. "Sure thing. What should I tell him — that the Hale sisters need more Summers boys to reach the high cabinets?"

"Yes, that is his lot in life," K agreed. "And … if you want him to run, tell him I'm getting Theresa drunk. He'd believe that."

"And it's true," Theresa called out with a laugh from where she was putting the finishing touches on a serving tray with green beans and corn in it.

"Not _yet _it's not," K said. "I only gave you like … a glass and a half. _Lightweight._"

"Oh, you said you were getting me drunk. We're still in the fun part of the process," Theresa countered. She leaned forward with a sparkle in her eyes. "Now, if you hit my husband with half a glass, on the other hand…"

"We haven't even started, but if you want me to get him liquored up for you … that is a service I offer."

"Oh, I can do that well enough," Theresa said, waving her hand. "But I really could use someone taller. _Someone _put the cinnamon sugar on the top shelf."

"What kind of hateful person would do a thing like that?" K asked.

"Bet it was Chance," Cody sang out.

"Tell him he's cleaning stalls for the next week," K laughed. "Just for that."

Cody grinned almost recklessly before he headed out to go tell his big brother exactly that, with Theresa laughing the whole time. "Oh, you're horrible to them."

"No I'm not," K said, grinning. "Chance had already offered to help me. It was his idea."

Theresa burst out laughing at that, and Nadia shook her head with a muttered, "Sounds like him."

Dinner was just about ready by the time Scott came in to where all the action was, with Kate shooing him forward — she was also curious to see what was up, since if they _had _needed someone tall, Chance was getting up there anyway and was already helping out, even if he wasn't the full 6'3".

"I need help with a word," K told him as she waved Nadia over to the sink again.

"And you wanted my help and not our resident publishing mogul because…" Scott said, tipping his head toward Kate.

"Specifically your help," K clarified. "Because it's _your _forte." She nodded to Nadia. "What is the proper term for this?"

Nadia took her cue from K and reached a hand toward the sink, where the water once again seemed to follow her movements before she lowered her hand again.

Scott's eyebrows shot up before he broke into a grin and had to wrap his niece in a spinning hug. "How long have you been manipulating water?"

"I… just found out about it today?" Nadia said, though she couldn't stop smiling as she returned the hug.

"I think it's called 'favoritism' now," K muttered to Kate as she gathered up the wine bottles for dinner. "That or 'Summers catnip'."

Kate snorted out a little laugh. "Both. It's definitely both."

"Do your parents know?" Scott asked Nadia, who shook her head lightly, still looking shocked herself.

"Know what?" Theresa asked as she returned to the kitchen, since they were starting to move the food out to the dining room.

Nadia glanced up at Scott and then took a deep breath. "I think I'm a mutant? At least… I have powers." She bit her lip. "I mean, I could be Inhuman too, right? Like Miss Kamala?"

"We can find out easily enough," Scott said. "Why don't you and your parents come to Hank's lab with me after dinner, and we'll run a blood test?" He smiled. "Either way, you're more than welcome to start classes if you want."

"So I'd just go to school in LA, right?" Nadia asked.

"If that's what you're interested in," Scott said. "You can take a look at any of the other schools too — we just opened the European campus this year too."

Nadia broke into a smile at that. "That does sound amazing."

"It's not a romantic European tour," Cody said, interjecting himself and sitting up on the counter. "It's a hidden away island for kids who want to learn how to fight before they come here and learn how to _destroy _people."

"We can talk about it later," Scott promised before he just had to grin and wrap Nadia up in a hug again.

* * *

Everyone was in high spirits come Christmas, and the mansion was plenty full with everyone coming in. Jubilee and Noh came out with their family… Erik and May came early for Hanukkah, with Billy and Teddy and Peter and Sara and their kids… Kitty and Peter Quill… Tyler and Tammy… not to mention the whole Hale clan.

But there was still another set of visitors early on Christmas morning before everyone had quite finished with the gift-opening portion of the morning, and Chance's whole face lit up when he saw Cable and Hope in the doorway.

"Nate!" Chance rushed over to all but attack Nate in a hug.

"Hey, Chance," Nate said, smiling as he returned the hug and picked Chance up off the ground. "Merry Christmas."

"I didn't know you were coming!" Chance said, still grinning. "You have to come out to the range with me! I want to show you the guns Tony and James made for me!"

"For sure," Nate agreed, breaking into a grin of his own.

"You can't use them, though-"

"Why not?"

"Well, they're DNA-coded," Chance explained. "Only Elin and Dad can use them."

Nate smirked at that. "Just those two, huh?"

"Well, yeah. Elin's on the team with me, and I know she's got my back."

"Uh-huh."

"I bet we could get some energy weapons from Sying or his dad, though. They can recode theirs."

"That's alright; I've got my own," Nate chuckled.

While Nate and Chance were talking — with Chance excitedly filling Nate in on the details of his guns and the team and everything else — Charlie waved Hope over to sit with her. "Boys and their toys," she said with a smirk. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Hope replied with a little smile. "Don't worry - I knew they were going to be like this."

"Literally everyone did," Charlie pointed out, which had Hope chuckling and nodding her agreement, though both girls had to giggle when Annie came over to wrap up both Nate and Chance at once and steer them back toward the rest of the family so they could finish unwrapping presents together.

"If I'd known you were coming, I would have made sure to get something for you here instead of sending it out," Annie told Nate warmly.

"Don't worry about it," Nate said, shaking his head at her.

"We just never have the whole family together," Annie said, making sure to wrap Hope up in a hug as well. "We really should do this more often."

Nate grinned at her and sat down by Rachel, who projected _Just run with it _and laughed.

On the way to the glogg, K spotted Nate and had to set her mug down for just a moment on her way to greet him as she found most fitting. She took just a second to jump up and wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his cheek before dropping back down and heading for more wine. "Glogg is warm … you both need some."

"O-kay," he said, shaking his head at her and at Willow as she simply climbed into his lap and parked herself there.

"You have to say hello to my baby sister, Uncle Nate," she informed him in a perfectly no-nonsense tone. "She's _really _pretty."

Nate looked over the top of Willow's head to where Bobby was sitting with a sleeping Ivy and nodded. "Maybe when she's awake so she can say 'hello' back," he suggested, which seemed to placate Willow — for the time being.

And while the full Summers clan was enjoying being together, Kari had slipped over from her own family to tap James on the shoulder with a long, thin package. "Merry Christmas," she said as she held it out to him.

James shook his head when he saw the sketch - of him asleep and hanging his arm off the edge of the bed. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kari just laughed. "I called it 'Genius Crashing,'" she teased him.

He shook his head and returned the favor with a similarly thin package, though it had some weight to it. "Merry Christmas yourself."

She grinned and quickly tore open the wrapping, then let out a little 'oh' when she saw the gorgeous framed picture of her. She clearly hadn't known that he'd taken it and was deeply involved in some art project or another, but the light had caught her eyes just right. "This is gorgeous."

"Well, yeah. Start with good subject matter …"

Kari turned a little purple and then threw her arms around him in a hug. "I love it!"

"You're very welcome — and thanks for the drawing. Your texture seems to be getting better."

She beamed. "Thanks. I think I sketched those trees about four times before I got it down. You were right: it helped."

"Well, any time you need something for that, just … let me know. I'll get some city shots next time I'm downtown."

"Please do," she said, smiling wider. "The buildings have the coolest lighting when the windows catch the sun just right."

But before James could say anything else, he was totally tackled to the ground by Krissy, who had gotten her own photograph from James of her and Elin with their heads together. "You're the best! I'm hanging it above my desk in my room! I love it!"

"I thought you might like that one," James told her with a little smile. "Seeing as you think you're starved for attention."

"Oh, I am; it's a horrible affliction," she laughed and then hugged him again. "Love you too, James."

"Sure … you say that now ... "

"Yes, yes I do."

"It's because you're just so loveable," Sying teased as he zipped over to give James his present, one earphone hanging out of his ear as he was listening to the music Penny had given him. "I'm not as good of a photographer as you are, but…" He gestured to the package.

James gave him a little smirk before he cracked it open to find the digital frame that, once it was powered up, began rotating the pictures Sying took in space. "Nice. You did just fine. I'm not sure I'd even know how to shoot this stuff myself. Thanks."

"Yeah, how do you backlight a supernova?" Sying smirked.

"I don't know, man … that's just … I don't know." James tipped his head for Sying to follow before he handed him a box that was much heavier than it looked. "I wouldn't advise opening this here. Some people might get irritated, but … there is some new tech in here that doesn't have any blueprints in the system yet, but it's totally compatible with the tech on your ship."

Sying grinned and made sure to pick James up in the hug that followed. "Favorite uncle," he teased.

"Now that … you don't even have a fair contest for that."

Sying laughed. "And?"

"Nothing … just hard to come in last when you're the only one really in the race."

"Funny how that works," Sying chuckled before he zipped off to go find Elin to give her the playlist he'd made of songs that Groot had introduced him to that reminded him of her — past Krissy and Chance as Chance helped Krissy clasp on the bracelet he gave her.

While the kids were exchanging presents, K had taken a seat near Douglas Hale to make sure he got involved in the breakfast that she'd worked up. "Have you gotten enough of the kids being … too big for their britches?"

Douglas laughed. "That's always the case, ma'am."

"Mr. Hale, if you continue to call me ma'am, I'm not going to be able to talk to you," K told him. She put her hand on his wrist. "K is fine, or I'll answer to 'pretty lady' too."

"Ah, but then I'll get in trouble with your old man," he pointed out.

"But he knows you'd be right," she had to tease. "Can I get you some coffee, or are you in the sweet tea crowd?"

"I grew up in Mississippi - what do you think?" he teased.

"I'll be right back with the tea," she promised.

"Make sure Annie gets some as well," he said.

"I will," she said over her shoulder. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Douglas shook his head as Evelyn came to sit with him. "Got all I need right here, pretty lady."

"Good answer," Evelyn laughed.

As K went to get the sweet tea, she found Erik there getting the earl gray for himself and May, though he shot her a little raised eyebrow look when he saw her. "You simply can't help yourself, can you?"

"No. Are you terribly jealous that I'm spoiling someone else?"

He shook his head with a little chuckle. "Quite the opposite. I'm glad to see the attention go to someone so deserving." He leaned onto his cane with both hands. "And someone who needs it more."

"He really does," she agreed. "You're positively spry in comparison."

He shook his head at that. "Of course."

"Make sure you get some lingonberries with your breakfast."

"Make sure you take some time for yourself as well, my dear," Erik said with a warm smile.

"I'll have time for myself later," she told him. "More warm wine … and I'm on a mission to take advantage of my husband."

"I'm sure," Erik said with a smirk before he simply levitated the tea tray in front of himself so he could take it out to May. "Merry Christmas, K."

"Happy Hanukkah," she replied.

* * *

After the new year — and the Summers twins' birthdays — everyone had started to head home, though Annie was still in an amazing mood after the holiday spent with family, especially when she and her sisters had managed to find a home for Douglas and Evelyn in Salem Center so that they could keep a closer eye on Douglas.

And even though everyone had gone, Annie was still enjoying herself as she found K and all but tackled her in a hug. "You're wonderful — you know that?"

"Well, it was a trick, but I did finally get him wasted," K said, smirking at Logan, who was slowly shaking his head at her.

"Oh, I'm sure that was quite the project, but that's not what I'm talkin' about," Annie laughed.

"Well, you're going to need to help me, because that has been my present to myself this year, you know."

Annie smiled and hugged K again. "My dad. He _loved _visiting the mansion, and I know you were so good with him; he was telling stories _all _night on New Year's Eve."

"Oh, I like listening to old soldiers," K told her.

"So do we," Annie said, the smile only widening. "_I _hadn't even heard some of those stories!"

"I'm glad he started talking then," K said. "He's a sweet guy."

"He taught me everything I know," Annie agreed.

"I'm happy to spend a little time with him when he's around." K gave Annie a squeeze and headed over to get some coffee. "Don't move, love," she called out to Logan. "I've got you covered."

"Oh, I didn't know you could even get hangovers," Annie said.

"As close to it as I could manage," K told her. "Might have involved an inhibitor for a while. Just to do it right."

"Oh, that is a happy holidays," Annie laughed.

"It really was. He's fun when he's wasted."

"Any war stories out of him?" Annie teased.

"He … wasn't focused on war stories," K laughed.

"Mmm, next time then."

"Oh, he'll tell those sober," K promised. "You just need to ask him."

"Maybe I will," Annie said. "Or I'll take you both with me when I go to see my dad. I'd love to hear them both get into it."

"I doubt he'd believe some of them," K said. "He said he spent some time as a medic in the first world war."

"Well, depending on where Dad thinks he is, he might think he's talking to an old soldier from when he was young," Annie pointed out.

"I'll watch for that," K promised. "I usually can figure that part out fast enough."

"We've just been listening for who he thinks he's talking to," Annie admitted.

"Oh, just run with it," K told her. "Next time I see him, he likely won't remember a thing that we talked about before, and we'll start all over when I introduce him to my husband again."

"You're wonderful, really."

"You must have been drinking last night," K said, crinkling up her nose before she picked up the two coffee mugs to curl up with Logan.


	15. We're Doing This Thing

**Chapter 15: "We're Doing This Thing"**

They were only about a week into the semester, and K had just finished the last class of the week with her new beginners dance class, when Sying slipped into the room with a quiet wave. "Hey, Grammy K."

"Well hello, maple sugar sparkles," she replied, waving him in. "What's on your mind, sweet pea?"

"I was just talking to Scott," he explained, biting his lip. "He thinks I'm ready to take the test."

She nodded her head. "And what do you think?"

"I think… I haven't tried to do anything with a collar yet," he said carefully. "And it's one thing to be able to see Shi'ar without freaking out, but a collar is _way _more likely to be a problem than Shi'ar — unless I actually go to space with the team."

"Alright. So … what do you want to do about that part?"

"That's why I came to you," Sying admitted. He took a deep breath. "I'm doing a lot better. I really think I am. But if I freak out, I'd rather do it with you than in a test or… or even in Grampa Wolvie's test."

She nodded at that. "His test won't be easy; you know that, right? Elin couldn't sleep right for nearly a week."

He nodded. "I know," he said. "But I think if I can get past all that happened on Chandilar, a test from my grandfather is just… going to be a lot like that. Just get through it and work past it."

"Okay," K said carefully. "When do you want to get started, and where do you want to go to do it?"

"I want to start as soon as we can," Sying said. "Krissy's still waiting for me, and I don't want her to have to wait when I could be working on it right now."

"Well … let me change first," she said, gesturing down to dress she was in. "Then we can meet up in the Danger Room — unless you want to go somewhere else."

"No, I think that's fine," he said, nodding. "But I want to be able to handle it outside the Danger Room too. You and Scott are right — it's going to happen in the field, and I have to be able to handle it, _at least _until the mission's over."

"Alright. Well we'll try it a little differently than last time," she told him before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Give me ten minutes to get the 'proper lady' look off."

"Thanks, Grammy K," Sying said, returning the kiss on her cheek before he rushed off to the Danger Room ahead of her.

When K showed up a short while later, she had the collar in her hand, and she walked up to him in a very slow, easy manner. "Alright," she said before she simply held it out to him. "You put it on yourself in your own time _first._"

Sying looked totally surprised for a second before he took the collar and held it in his hands. "Alright," he said, slowly, turning it over a few times. "This isn't what I expected, but okay."

"Your first mistake was thinking you'd know what I was up to," K pointed out before she simply went to the ground and sat cross-legged on the floor.

Sying took a deep breath and sat down in front of her, mirroring her position as he very slowly clasped the collar around his neck and held his breath, then let it out slowly. He sat there flexing out his hands a couple of times before he finally had to shake his head. "No. No. I want it off," he said quietly.

"Alright," she said, nodding before she stood up and very carefully unclasped it.

Sying let out a breath of relief and ran a hand over the back of his neck.

"Are you alright?" K asked.

He shook his head. "Not really," he admitted.

"And … you must love being wrong," K told him. "Because I think you're not nearly as bad as you think if you're not freaking out right now."

"I _am _freaking out right now," Sying said.

"But … you're also controlling your reaction," she pointed out.

Sying nodded. "Well, I think it helped to do it slow," he said. "Thanks."

"So, we'll just keep working on it as you'd _like _to build up your tolerance."

He nodded again. "Thanks, Grammy K," he said again before he leaned over and snuggled into her side for a hug.

"Whenever and as often as you are ready, my sweet boy."

* * *

After a few weeks working with K in the Danger Room on building up his tolerance to the collar, Sying was sure he was so close, but he wanted to make sure he could handle it when he _didn't _know it was coming.

She was a little reluctant to start, but she agreed, knowing that he had to do this. Even if he changed his mind about the team, this would be an issue down the road anyhow. So he never saw it coming when she slipped it on him for the first time when he was running late between classes, stopping him short in the middle of his run.

And he did panic — totally taken off-guard — but with how much they had been working on it, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the first time she surprised him with it in the Danger Room. He reflexively pushed her away, yes, but once he had taken half a second to _breathe _and saw that it was her, he closed his eyes and let out a breath.

"You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm sorry," she said, cringing. "But you asked me to."

"I know," he said, nodding along to every word. He took another deep breath that he let out through his nose. "I'm sorry I pushed you."

"You're doing so well though," she told him quietly.

He held his breath and then darted over to wrap her up in a hug. "Can you get it off now, please?" he asked.

"Yes." She didn't even wait until he'd finished asking before she had her hands at the clasp to open it.

He visibly relaxed once it came off and let out a breath. "Well… what do you think?" he asked.

"I think … you handled it better than I have in the past," she told him.

"I don't know if I'm field ready, though," he admitted. "I still panicked."

"Probably not, but you're making leaps and bounds — and you've learned how to control the reaction. Which means a lot."

"Yeah, I think everyone involved appreciates not having to deal with explosions," Sying said with a small smirk.

"That's not true; I like explosions."

"So do I." Sying darted forward and wrapped K up in another hug. "Thanks, Grammy K. I know you don't like doing it, but this is really helping. Really."

"Tell me if you want to do it again … or if you're okay to move on. Either way, I won't tell Scott."

"I think…" Sying watched her carefully. "If _you're _okay to do it again, I want to try not to panic as badly."

K nodded and pocketed the collar. "Alright then. But for the record — don't worry about me. I'll do this as much as you need me to."

He hugged her again and kissed her cheek. "I have the best grandparents in the world."

* * *

Sying was in a _great _mood as he sped down the hall to where he knew Krissy would just be getting out of her drama rehearsal for the day. Not just because he'd already seen Penny earlier that day and shared some of their music at lunch time but because K had managed to sneak up on him in the middle of a class change, at one of the busier intersections of the hallways where half the kids had to pass through. It had caught him totally off-guard, and he was scared _stiff_. But he had been able to control it. And he knew it.

So as soon as the collar was off again, he was sure to kiss K on the cheek and rush off — because this meant he finally felt like he could try out for the team.

Krissy nearly walked into him when she was walking out of the drama room and couldn't help but grin when she saw his wide smile. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"We're trying out for the team," Sying told her.

"We are?"

"Yeah. I'm headed to Scott's office after classes are out."

Krissy started to laugh when she saw the grin he was wearing. "We'll go after combat."

Sying grinned even wider and spun her around in a hug. "Great. See you then!" he said, zipping off as soon as he set her down to head off toward history.

He caught Penny before she walked into the classroom and spun her around in a kiss and a dip. "You're looking at a future X-Man," he told her when he let her up.

She looked totally caught off-guard, though she was grinning wider and wider, especially when he kissed her again. "You scheduled your test?"

"After class," he said. "I just … I've been working on not panicking, and I just realized I've at least got enough of a handle on it to move forward."

She grinned and kissed him back. "That's amazing, Sying. But your grandpa is going to kill me if I skip his class just to kiss you," she teased.

"Dance with me after class," he said, grinning and spinning her around.

"After you schedule your test?"

"Exactly."

She kissed him. "You're on," she said — and then for good measure kissed him again. "I don't think I've ever seen you this excited."

"Just wait until I make the team," he promised, then spun her into the classroom, shot a grin Logan's way, and then zipped off at top speed to speed into his own class just barely ahead of the bell.

* * *

Krissy and Sying were sitting outside the War Room together on Valentine's Day — though obviously, both of them had plans after the tests were over.

"You and Penny have your date all set?" Krissy asked as they waited for Scott.

Sying nodded. "We're going dancing on the beach. What about you and Chance?"

"We're going out to dinner," Krissy said. "And then ice skating."

Sying nodded at that. "That sounds fun too."

"Alright. Who's up first?" Scott asked as he met them outside the War Room. He was holding a pair of files in his hands as he looked up at them.

"Krissy should go first," Sying said. "I can speed through getting ready and leaving, and it _is _Valentine's Day."

Scott raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say a word. "Are you ready, Krissy?"

She beamed up at him and nodded, already on her feet before she simply teleported into her seat in the War Room before Scott could get to his. "I want to change my answer before you start asking any other ones," she said first and foremost as soon as the door was shut.

"Hi, how are you," Scott said, ignoring the rushed push. "And if you insist."

Krissy nodded and tipped her head to the side. "I've been thinking about it for months now, and I still think that being able to fight alongside my friends _is _fun, but that's not _why_ I want to join the team," she explained. "I just want to help. My friends or other people or whoever. I just like making people happy."

"And what about when it goes wrong and there's nothing you can do - what about those situations?"

"Then I want to be there for the 'after'," Krissy said. "That's what you've been doing with Sying, isn't it? Picking up the pieces?"

Scott nodded once at that. "Yes, that's what we've been trying to do for Sying." He took a breath and held it for a moment before he crossed his arms in front of him and watched her. "I know your heart is in the right place. And that you have your mother's optimism. But these tests aren't going to be like the others."

"Well, the team isn't like anything else I've ever done."

He nodded and gave her a little smile. "Alright. Head out to change, and I'll meet you in the Danger Room."

She beamed at him and disappeared in a poof of purple, sure to stop outside the room first and to let Sying know she was done before she teleported off to the Danger Room. Sying looked a bit more cautious, though, when he came in to talk to Scott.

"Have a seat," Scott said, gesturing to the spot across from him. "This is the easy part. Just have to spend a little time talking to you before we move forward."

"Alright," he said, nodding. "Shoot."

"Let's start out really easy. Why do you want to join the team?"

"Because I have amazing gifts, and I want to make sure I use them right," Sying said honestly.

"Well, that's a great reason to join the school for sure," Scott said. "But what do you want to do … what is it that you think makes the team what it is?"

"Oh, I thought it was obvious," Sying said. "I mean, everyone on the team has amazing gifts, and they use them to make the world better. That's what I was trying to say — that's what I want to do."

Scott nodded. "How has your training been going? Word in the halls is that you've made a lot of advances lately."

He grinned outright at that. "Yeah, I asked Grammy K to help me out with the collar." He tapped his neck. "I mean, the Danger Room sessions were great, but I wanted to be sure before I moved forward that I could trust myself in the field." He paused. "And I think I'm doing pretty well in combat and my other classes, too."

"Do you plan to keep working on those issues?" Scott asked. "Because if you do make the team, you're going to need to keep going."

He nodded. "I still get freaked out when it happens. I know I have a lot of work to do. But I think I can still work with the team. Right?"

Scott nodded once, very lightly. "Like I said before: everyone has something. As long as you keep trying to make yourself better, then it shouldn't be a disqualifier on its own."

"Oh good." He nodded and stretched out his hands. "I'm going to keep working on it, I promise."

"Then you can wait outside the Danger Room for Krissy to get done."

Sying grinned as he got to his feet. "Great!"

Scott gathered the files and stood up, though he was sure to take his time getting down to the booth, since it was well known that patience wasn't Krissy's strong suit, so a little wait wouldn't hurt before they got started.

He ran both Krissy and Sying through the same gamut that he had run the others through — from the MRD to the Brotherhood all the way up through fighting their own teammates. That last test was designed to keep them from winning, though Scott was a bit concerned by how fast Krissy went down when it was Elin who went after her. Sying was much more efficient, fighting through most of the team until Tommy outstripped him and clotheslined him, knocking the wind out of him long enough that Tommy and Krissy were able to pin Sying and end the sim.

Sying had looked almost insulted at how that ended — not necessarily at the fact that he had lost but more insulted that Tommy had outpaced him. Though that really wasn't anything new.

"Alright, let's meet up back in the War Room," Scott said once Sying was back on his feet. "We can grab Krissy on the way."

"Alright," Sying said, zipping off to go get changed and find Krissy.

When Scott got down to the room, both of them were obviously bouncing in their seats, waiting to hear what his verdict was. Particularly since again they weren't alone for the post mortem. He took his seat and let out a breath as he looked between them, but he just couldn't stop the smirk when it started up. "You both have come a long way."

"Thanks," Sying said, with Krissy nodding beside him.

"I expect you both to continue working just as hard as you have been for the past few months," Scott said. "But you're both free to talk to Logan about the next step. Congratulations. You both passed."

Both of them burst into beaming smiles, and Krissy teleported over to outright hug Scott, though as he had expected, neither of the speedy kids waited long before bursting out into the hallway to go talk to Logan — and then to go find Chance and Penny respectively.

* * *

It was another week before Logan's test for the two kids, but naturally, he flat out refused to do them both in one day. But he did agree to do both tests in one weekend. So he headed down early Saturday morning to fire up the Danger Room for Krissy first — purposely picking an early time just to make her wake up.

"You ready, kiddo?" Logan asked from the booth - still flipping on the various boards as Krissy tried to show how ready she was — at any time.

"Running on caffeine and brimstone," she grinned up at him.

He smirked as the doors locked shut, and with a nod — and no further warning — the sim started up. He didn't even try to ease her into it — starting out right off the bat with some nasty MRD officers that were much better shots than she thought they should be.

"These guys clearly did not go to the Stormtrooper school of shooting," she muttered as she had to keep teleporting _fast _to keep from getting hit.

Logan shook his head and reached over to hit a button — clearly for the expressed purpose of getting her to lose her composure, since the next thing that happened was someone street level shouted out a loud 'BRO!' and the street started to fill up with tracksuits.

"_Oh my gosh_," Krissy said, the grin spreading over her face as she tried valiantly not to giggle. "YES." With that, she simply dove in to start teleporting through the group of tracksuits, stealing weapons and knocking over the tracksuits.

But these weren't like the guys she was used to fighting in her mother's joke sim — these were the actual tracksuits that had been the bane of the Hawkeyes' lives for ages and could actually do some damage in large numbers. One of them managed to grab her tail and yank her sideways, and after that, it was just a matter of time before she was completely swamped — and then the program ended.

"Five minutes for water," Logan said as the sim faded, only to be replaced with a clock that had already started the five minute countdown.

Krissy looked up at the booth for a second, caught off-guard, seeing as she had been swamped. But she brushed herself off and tried to shake off the pure indignity of being defeated by _tracksuits _during her test.

"You have to swear not to tell my mom," she called up to the booth. "She'll never let me live that down."

"She's got access to the computer. So try doin' her proud."

"Oh great." Krissy shook her head and then laughed. "Right. No more tracksuit jokes."

"Don't tempt me." He gave her the full time to catch her breath and get a drink before the clock disappeared, and the room faded fast into a vast, broken city. It wasn't immediately apparent what the purpose of the sim was as Krissy walked through it, her ears perked up as she listened for any sign of trouble. Though she should have realized a little quicker what the trouble was when she spotted the rest of her friends all dressed in oddly-colored uniforms.

"O...kay. What's with the fashion statement?"

As soon as she spoke, all of them turned her way, and an instant later, the whole group attacked at once.

Krissy teleported away immediately, her eyes wide, but she didn't get much of a breather when Sying caught up to her and all but tackled her, knocking her over. Up close, Krissy could see that Sying's eyes were completely black, which explained why he was attacking her full bore.

"Oh, Sying," she said quietly before she very slowly snaked her tail between them. "I'm really, really sorry about this." With that, she reached with her tail in between his legs and _yanked_, and he very quickly let go of her. While he was doubled over still, she knocked him out and then turned toward the others — though once again, she didn't get the chance to really get her breath.

As soon as she stepped back from Sying, she heard a telltale sort of high whine and teleported on instinct as Cody's optic beam split the air where she had just been. She teleported into a side street and peered around the corner, only to frown when she realized that she could see both Summers boys but neither of the Howletts.

And Kari — Kari appeared in a poof of blue just behind Krissy to grab her from behind, wrapping her arms through Krissy's.

From Logan's point of view, the two girls ended up in just poofs of blue and purple that never cleared fully before they were gone again. He sat back in his seat and drank his coffee as he listened to the rapid-fire 'bamf's that were echoing the room and filling it with swirls of smoke. At least until the last echo that was punctuated by a thump as well. He finally looked out over the edge of the window to see that Kari was out — lying where she'd fallen — and Krissy was perched on a streetlamp trying to catch her breath.

He watched the sim keep moving forward, though the sensors clearly hadn't picked up where she'd disappeared to, so as he tipped his mug back, he cranked up the sensitivity just another notch to be sure she was busted out quickly.

Krissy still hadn't gotten her breath back, especially because she had taken the time to make sure Kari was okay — just knocked out — when she saw Elin and Chance just below her a half second before Chance shot through the streetlight she was on — clearly not using the stun settings.

In a second, she had teleported to a rooftop, though the smoke had barely cleared before James tackled her, trying to pin her, his claws out and just barely missing her chin as she angled her head back, her eyes wide.

She knew she couldn't win the fight fairly, so she simply teleported off the roof, turning so he was underneath her, and then headbutted him to make him let go of her. She teleported before she could hit the ground, but James didn't have that luxury.

He hit the ground _hard_, and Krissy felt the bottom drop out of her stomach at the _crack_ that echoed the street. She almost couldn't stop herself from peering over the edge of the roof, though she immediately regretted it when she saw the mess down below.

She was obviously shaken and didn't even react when Elin got behind her and pinned her, which ended the sim entirely.

"Five minutes," Logan said again, no inflection in his tone at all for her to guess what he was thinking.

Krissy didn't move for about the first minute of the break, just… upset before she finally got up and got some water. Both Elin and Chance had warned her that this was going to be one of the hardest things she'd ever done but that… _sucked_.

When she glanced up at Logan, he didn't look like he was reacting at all, just sitting back with his mug of coffee and frowning at one of the screens.

"Can you at least tell me what was controlling them?" Krissy asked.

"There was a demon in the third building — second floor. Watched the whole thing."

Krissy felt her stomach in her knees. "Oh."

He got up and headed over to get himself more coffee from the far end of the booth while the clock continued to count down. When he got himself settled in, he looked down at her for a moment, almost like he was studying her. After a little bit, he simply turned back to the controls and started pulling up and prepping the next sim.

It was painfully obvious that she did not like the outcome on the next sim that forced her to leave Elin behind as a mob took over on the group … and she was even further out of her depth when the following sim only came after a three minute break and put her in the position to decide how to proceed when faced with making a choice for the group with both Elin and Chance out of commission and a few of the younger kids looking to her for an answer. That actually looked physically painful for her to decide, which really was what he'd expected … just not so dramatically, for some reason.

He was pleased, though, when Krissy was the first person to take on the destroyed school simulation and pass it on the second try.

So as Logan reached the bottom of his mug, it was clear that it was time to turn up the heat. "Ten minutes."

"Oh good," Krissy said with a teasing smile up his way before she flopped back on the ground. "Hiding is _exhausting_."

He didn't respond to her and instead spent the time really working up a more complex program for her to deal with. When the timer ran out, the room shifted slowly, and finally, Krissy found a window in the pristine halls to look out of. She paused for a moment when she realized that she was in deep space, which meant options of escape were slim to none. Which was pretty much the opposite of what she had just come from.

In no time at all, she found herself surrounded by Skrulls, and she simply had to dive in with both hands. She had a pair of swords, at least, but the frustrating thing about fighting Skrulls was that they could _re-form_. And for as many as there were, it felt like as soon as she made any headway, the Skrulls she had just cut down were back up, and she just… couldn't get anywhere.

It was a completely exhausting fight, and Krissy kept thinking that Logan would stop the sim — but he didn't end it until she had found herself well and truly worn to the ground, both of her swords gone and two Skrulls pinning her down.

When the sim died, Krissy didn't bother to pick herself up, just lying on the floor and totally wiped. "That's fine. I don't need five. I'll just take 'em on from here," she said dryly without even picking up her head.

"You're done," Logan said. "You can lay there for at least another ... hour. That's when Scott's comin' in to work."

"I am perfectly fine with that," she said, still without moving.

Logan nodded once and flipped the work lights on and simply _left _her there without another word.

Krissy was there for another half an hour — but it was ten minutes before she started to realize… she didn't know how she'd done on the test.

She remembered that it had been a couple days for Chance, but… it had been the same day for Elin, so she wasn't sure if that meant she should ask or what.

But by the end of the day, she wasn't patient enough to wait for Logan and just teleported into the seat next to him at dinner. "Okay, so. How'd I do?"

"You couldn't figure it out?" Logan asked as he cracked open a beer.

"I mean, I think I passed, but if I didn't, that would be nice to know," she pointed out.

Logan watched her for a long moment before he let out a little 'huh' and then simply turned back to K to continue the conversation they were having before she popped in.

"No, seriously." Krissy leaned around his arm. "Yes or no and then I'll go. I'm on the team, right?"

"I thought you were stuck on goin' through this with Sying?" he said.

"Yeah, and he's going tomorrow," she pointed out. "So…"

"Exactly," he told her.

"So we pass or fail together?"

"Is that what you _want _to do?" Logan asked, turning to face her fully, since she seemed to want to make it more interesting.

"Well, no… unless you think my score would help his, then yes, for sure," she said quickly

His expression was unreadable as he held her gaze. "You think he needs you to make it through? Or that he can't do it on his own?"

"I think he can do it, but if I can help, then I want to help," Krissy said, jutting her chin out.

Again, he held her gaze for a long moment, narrowing his eyes just a bit before he gave her another little 'huh'.

"Fine. Don't tell me." She rolled her eyes. "Just don't count it against him, okay?"

Logan smirked at that, but he wouldn't give her any indication as to what he was thinking, still, and she let out a frustrated noise and teleported away.

* * *

Sying's test took the better part of the next day, even though he started in the morning. Logan had started him off hard with a similar sim to the one he had run with Krissy, with his friends under someone else's control. Once it had started, he had been alright to take out a few of the team members, but he had just flat out avoided fighting Krissy until it was an immediate need.

There was another sim with a hostage setup that he had _hated_. Even as fast as he was, Elin and Krissy were too far apart to get to both of them. He'd known what carbonadium was, but it had completely shocked him to see what it did to Elin. It was enough to set him back a bit going into the next one, though the destroyed mansion sim was always going to be hard for him.

He did, eventually, figure out that he was supposed to run, but only after he'd managed to get himself shot about five times by the soldiers going in to retrieve Logan and K. And he _hated _the solution and was sure to tell Logan as much, hands on his hips as he explained how very _stupid _it was that these people were coming after his grandparents and getting away with it.

"That's just the way it is, kiddo," Logan told him.

"Which doesn't make it any less stupid."

"It's something that happens, and it's not gonna ever stop."

Sying shook his head. "Well. It's still stupid," he insisted as he sat down to get a breath and a drink.

"Probably best if you don't think about it too much," Logan said in an easy tone.

Sying leaned back and closed his eyes to keep from rolling them too hard before the next sim came up, this one fairly straightforward: Logan had a dampening field in place, so he couldn't just speed through the MRD he was faced with. Instead, he had to rely on his teammates, especially when they were able to use their powers — so in this scenario, he had been tagged.

He knew he didn't do well with that particular sim, because it wasn't until he had exhausted everything he could do on his own and was still pinned down by the MRD that he finally called for backup — but once the team got involved, things picked up fast, and they were able to push back the group and get Sying out of the line of fire.

But it was the last sim that shook Sying the most. When the sim started up, he found himself on Chandilar — though he had expected that this would happen somewhere in the test. There were plenty of Imperial Shi'ar to contend with, and he was surrounded.

Sying almost held his breath for a moment before he built up a solid plasmoid to throw toward the Shi'ar right in front of him, though that was as far as he got before the one behind him snuck up on him and clapped a collar around his neck.

The sim didn't end there, however. And in short order, it was all very familiar in the way they were manhandling him.

He had completely frozen, suddenly unable to breathe all over again as they dragged him off, but before they could get him off the street, he finally got a handle on it — at least enough to fight back, flipping over with his arms twisted up the way only he and his dad could do so he could properly kick the Shi'ar holding him into letting him go. And then he just… ran.

And just like that, the sim faded, the collar popped open, and Sying dropped to his knees to try and get his breath. His eyes were closed, and he was shaking, but he still was sure to say, "I got it. I got it. Just let me get my breath."

"You're done. I'll see you upstairs."

Sying nodded but didn't move until he felt like he had a handle on his reaction. He _had _been okay, he really had, but that had just… been too much like what had happened before. The collar and the Shi'ar and the way they were dragging him off — yeah. That had been more than he was prepared to deal with.

He made his way upstairs after the test to find Logan in the War Room, and he slowly edged in and shut the door. Logan was texting, so Sying waited until he was done, sitting across from him in the meantime.

"You alright now?" Logan asked finally.

Sying nodded slowly. "That was _too _similar," he told Logan. "What did you do — have my mom pull it out of my head?"

"Nope," Logan said, shaking his head slowly. "Just based off of what I've been through — and pretty much all of the X-Men. Only thing I didn't do was have them restrain your hands; mine usually end up behind my back."

Sying nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. "They, um, didn't do that with me. They just used the collar," he said very quietly.

Logan nodded. "Then I'm glad I didn't take it further. They only do that with me because they know who I am."

Sying glanced up at Logan and bit his lip. "I _had _it," he said. "I had it under control with Shi'ar and with the collar, I just… not… with the… whole scenario."

"You did better'n most," Logan told him. "That sim isn't a fun one."

"No."

"You're not out of it yet," Logan told him. "But I need a couple days."

"To reset?"

"No." Logan shook his head. "We're not doing that again anytime soon."

"Alright." Sying took a deep breath and then glanced up at Logan with a small smirk. "So I'm probably not going on any space missions for a while, huh?"

Logan smirked at him. "Hopefully not. I'm not in the mood to go to space, myself."

"Yeah, it's … kind of boring when it's not _terrifying_."

"There's definitely ups and downs," Logan agreed before he stood up. "Recharge. Suck on a few pixie sticks or somethin'."

"Twizzlers," Sying said as he got to his own feet.

"Probably better that way. I thought your mom was gonna start snortin' 'em the way she was goin' for a while there."

Sying just smirked and shrugged. "Helps to recharge," he said.

"I'm well-aware," he told him. "Take the afternoon, or what's left of it, and we'll talk about it in a couple days."

Sying nodded before he darted over and hugged Logan. "Thanks, Grampa Wolvie."


	16. All for One

**Chapter 16: "All For One" **

"Okay, you're just being stupid at this point," Kate said as she dropped into a seat next to Logan. "It's been three days. If you wanted to see if she was patient, congratulations, you've discovered what we all know: she's _not_. Well done."

"Kate, take a pill or somethin'. It's not that."

"Then you're just playing games with my baby, and your _goddaughter_, which is also not okay."

"No, I'm not," Logan promised. "I'm goin' along with what both of 'em wanted to do."

"Umm, you really wanna tell me that the two most impatient people on the _planet _wanted to wait longer than _any of the other kids_?" Kate asked, totally incredulous.

He smirked to himself. "Interesting phrasing," he said, thinking how right she was … and that they were the two most impatient people _on _the planet. "I didn't think it would work out this way, but it did." He shrugged up both shoulders. "I'm not bein' a pain. I've got my reasons."

Kate snorted audibly. "Yeah. And it's that you're a pain."

He gave her a dry look. "If you could keep your mouth shut or had any kind of a poker face, I might be able to talk to you. But you don't. So here we are. Waitin'."

"Oh come on," Kate said, scooting closer to lay her head on his shoulder with her best puppy dog pout.

"Doesn't work on me, sidekick."

"But it sends a message," Kate said, still with her lip poked out.

"Not really, no," Logan said as his phone chimed.

"Logan, come on. You're screwing with my baby girl."

"I'm not. Not intentionally, anyhow." He checked the phone and was sure to tip it away from Kate as he checked the message then put it back in his pocket.

"Pain."

He pulled her over to kiss the side of her head. "You love me anyhow."

"I do, but I love my baby more. Thus: pain."

"Kate … let it go for now."

"'For now' has been three days. It's futzing time, you lunatic."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her. "Did she tell you what her first sim was?"

Kate shook her head. "She didn't tell me the order."

"What did she tell you?" he asked.

"That she fought a demon-controlled team… oh, and she got that stupid 'run away' sim that I remember running…"

"She got that one on the second try," Logan told her. "Smoked you."

"Well, she's my baby," Kate said with a proud smile. "She's smart."

He drew in a deep breath and shook his head. "I've never seen anyone get _that _sim _that _fast."

Kate frowned his way. "You do know you were testing a teleporter, right?"

"Yep."

"I mean, come on, Logan. She loves to fight, but she'll pull out in a second to get the upper hand. Kurt does the same thing — teleport away and let them fall over themselves."

"Ya, I know."

"So why are you surprised?"

"She just set a record, that's all."

"No one will ever get that thing on the first try," Kate said.

"Well - if they did, that'd be an automatic fail, wouldn't it?" Logan replied.

"Therefore, my baby got a perfect score. Oh look. You should tell her."

"I thought I told her she did well on that." He frowned and shook his head with a little 'hmp'.

"Tell her about how she's _on the team_, you ridiculous _pain_. If she wasn't, you wouldn't be doing this."

"So she didn't tell you about the tracksuits then?"

Kate blinked. "You put tracksuits in her sim?"

"That's a 'no, Logan, she didn't tell me that', isn't it?"

"What were tracksuits doing in the sim?" Kate asked. "Besides being stupid?"

"She is a Hawkeye, isn't she?" Logan said. "It's a hazard, right?"

"More for Clint's kids than mine, considering they're in Bed Stuy, but yeah, sure," Kate said.

"She needed to get over the joke," Logan told her. "So yeah, I gave her something that she's never taken seriously before."

"Well, she didn't tell me about it," Kate admitted.

Logan tipped his head to the side for a moment and went back to his paper. "Wonder why."

Kate frowned as she thought of what Krissy might have done, and then Kade was the first of her kids downstairs to breakfast and started giggling madly, climbing up next to Kate to mirror her body language.

"Are we pretending Wogan is messing with K again? Are you being K's mom with Papa?" he asked. He grinned widely and pointed a finger at Logan. "_You weave my sister awone_!"

"Sorry kiddo, I just can't," Logan said before he tapped Kade on the nose.

Kade started giggling and climbed over to sit in Logan's lap. "That's okay. I know it's just pretend angry."

Logan started to chuckle and pulled him over to give him a one-armed hug. "What makes you say that?"

"Because Mama always looks funny when she's pretend angry," he giggled. "Papa looks scawier because he has teeth like me, see?" He lifted up his lip with his finger to show off his teeth.

Logan grinned at Kate past Kade's head. "You takin' notes, Kate?"

"He is _way _too smart for his own good," Kate said, shaking her head and smiling fondly.

"This is true," Kurt said as he came downstairs with the girls. "What is he doing now?"

"I'm showing Wogan my teeth, see?" Kade giggled and showed Kurt his teeth with his lip pulled back. "They make me _scawier_."

When he looked back at Logan, Logan curled his lip back too to show Kade his canines. "I don't mind sharp teeth."

"Well, you don't _need _'em, 'cause you can gwowl," Kade said in a perfectly reasonable tone.

"Growl doesn't mean much without the sharp teeth to back it up," Logan told him.

"Okay," Kade said with a shrug as he climbed down to go get himself some cereal - and Kaleb rushed over to help before he could spill all over the place.

"Elf," Logan said before he picked his coffee up again.

"Logan," Kurt said with a smile as he sat down beside him. "I see you're teaching my son all the important things.

"Yep. Growls. Sharp teeth. All the big stuff."

Kurt chuckled as he leaned over to press a kiss into Kate's cheek and then caught Kade's tail before it would have knocked over the cereal - again. The dining room was just starting to fill up when two more people joined the group — Jubilee and Noh — with Jubilee coming up behind Logan and throwing her arms around his neck to hug him. "Surprise!"

"Hey, Punkin'," Logan said, covering her hand with his as she squeezed him.

"Oh, hey, when did you get in?" Sying asked as he got in to breakfast too, rushing over to wrap up his parents — and Ael — in hugs.

"Just now," Jubilee said before she gave Logan another kiss on the cheek and then shifted to do the same for Kurt. "Just got in from Hala. Thought we'd swing in and say 'hi' before we went back to LA."

"Dad let me fly," Ael told Sying with a wide grin.

"Really?" Sying asked as he sat down with his little brother.

Ael nodded. "He let me fly when it was just space and no planets," he explained.

"You got to be a space pirate?" Kade asked, perking up a bit.

Ael giggled and shook his head. "No, I just got to be a space _pilot_."

"Oh. That's not as cool," Kade said.

"But it was fun," Ael said.

"You didn't bring the twins with you?" Kari asked.

Noh shook his head lightly. "They didn't want to miss school, and Ael is still young enough to be able to miss a week or so of coloring," he said.

"Dad." Ael pulled a face his way. "I do more than _coloring_. I'm not _that _little."

"Of course not," Noh said, then pulled Ael over to kiss the top of his head.

"So, are you sticking around for a while?" Kate asked.

"Um … I was thinking about it," Jubilee said. "I miss a few people here, you know."

"Oh good. Then you can help me tell your dad to stop being an idiot," Kate said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jubilee said, looking shocked. "What did he do? Are there twins on the way?"

Kurt almost choked on his coffee laughing. "_Yes_. Yes there are," he laughed, just to get the rise out of K and Logan.

"No, there are not," Logan said, shaking his head, though K shot Kurt a little glare.

"You suck, Catholic boy," K said quietly.

Kurt laughed and grinned her way, completely unashamed.

"I can help," Kade offered.

"Don't jinx me, angel face," K said, though she still snuggled into Logan's side.

Kade reached over and patted her knee. "It's okay. I don't gots magic powers. That's Uncle Billy. I can't jinx nobody."

When Logan chuckled and K gave him a look, all he could do was smile her way. "Hey. That'd be on you, not me."

Krissy reached over to pull Kade away from Logan and K, shaking her head as she tickled his sides. "Don't worry, Kade; they're just silly."

Kate chuckled lightly at the kids before she reached over to snag Noh by the elbow. "Come on, Noh. Don't tell me you're not dying to see your son in yellow."

"Oh, yes, obviously," Noh said. "Though he'd look better in white and green."

"You're an idiot," she said, rolling her eyes.

"White and blue?" Jubilee suggested.

"Possibly," Noh said with a smile. "Not that I'm not partial to yellow, but he and I have the same complexion."

"A nice turquoise would be a good update," Jubilee decided as she got into a bowl of her Sugar Bombs.

"They won't be able to wear anything until _this one _give the final 'yes'," Kate said, pointing Logan's way. "And he's _being a pain_."

Jubilee took a moment to look properly irritated before she leaned over to kiss Logan's cheek again. "He's so not a pain. He's a darling."

"Did it occur to you for just one second that I was _maybe _waitin' for Jubilee?" Logan said when Kate looked like she might argue some more. "Don't you think the boy deserves to have _his _parents around too?"

All at once, Kate's entire expression shifted, and she through her arms around his neck in a hug. "You could have _told _me you were trying to be sweet, you dork!"

"I wasn't," he argued, returning the hug one-handed.

As soon as Kate stepped back from Logan, Kurt chuckled and pulled her over to him, only to whisper over her shoulder: "When are you going to trust our little friends?"

"I do," Kate said. "My Mom Button just got pushed."

Kurt chuckled and simply started to whisper teases in her ear as Logan got a kiss on the cheek from Jubilee on his way out - and then Kurt teleported off with Kate, already wrapped in a kiss.

As soon as the smoke was cleared, K looked over to Krissy and Sying. "Now. You two … should probably go on your own. He just wanted parents in the building before he talked to you. Privately."

Krissy and Sying shared a look before they seemed to decide on where to go without a word spoken, and Krissy teleported them both off to the office to knock on the door.

Logan looked up from his book to stare at the door for a second. "It's open."

The two kids came in, and Krissy was sure to say first of all, "I didn't ask Mom to get mad at you, I swear."

"I know," he said, going back to the book for a moment. "She's getting more uptight the older she gets."

"I blame Kade," Krissy said with a smirk. "That's always the safe bet."

Logan gestured to the coffee pot on the end of his desk. "Fresh pot if you want it."

"I had some this morning at breakfast, and I don't live on it like Mama does," Krissy said as she and Sying took seats across from him.

Logan glanced up at them again and finally put a marker in his book. "How do you _think _you did?"

Krissy glanced over at Sying and gestured for him to go first, and he looked a bit sheepish. "Well, I still have a ways to go," he said.

Krissy nodded. "Me too," she agreed quickly.

"This ain't part of the test, guys," Logan said. "What stuck out the most? Both of ya. You can compare notes."

Krissy glanced over at Sying. "Did you have to fight the team?"

Sying nodded. "I couldn't get past you," he admitted.

Krissy looked proud at that. "Well, you pinned me, but…"

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," Sying said, shaking his head.

"I dropped James off a building."

"You what?"

Krissy looked down at her hands. "It was horrible."

Sying frowned at Krissy for a moment before he scooted over and gave her a hug. "I totally freaked out," he admitted to her. "The Shi'ar captured me again, and I just… I froze. I mean, I got out, but it was _not _good."

She gave him a tight hug. "That must have been hard."

"Yeah."

"But you got out. That's good, right?"

"Yeah."

"Both of you got through your tests because you helped each other out. I expect you to keep that up," Logan said. "Krissy, you did better on that school sim than anyone that's ever taken that test. And Sying — you didn't fail the Shi'ar test. At all. That was exactly the right move."

"Freezing up?" Sying asked, shaking his head.

"You need to watch the tape," Logan told him. "You didn't freeze up. They got the drop on you with the collar, and you ended up running away from them — which is sometimes all you can do when you're that badly outnumbered."

"Yeah, I learned that at the school — how did you get it that fast?" Sying asked Krissy, who just shrugged.

"You need distance sometimes," she said as if it was obvious.

"The one thing you both really need to do is learn some patience," Logan told them.

"Yeah, we hear that a _lot_," Sying said with a smirk.

"So try _learning _from it," Logan said, perfectly seriously. "You have any questions?"

"Just one," Krissy said. "Do we get lockers next to each other?"

Logan smirked her way. "Everyone's in line. Your uniforms are in 'em already."

Both Krissy and Sying broke into huge smiles, and in an instant, Logan had a teleporter and a speedster on either side of him wrapping him up in a hug.

"So you know, I wanted to talk to you alone so you can break the news to your folks however you like," Logan said. "Keep working."

"We will," Sying promised before he glanced over at Krissy, who grinned.

"Race you back?"

"You're on."

* * *

**A/N: That's it for this volume! Head on over to Canucklehead Cowgirl's profile for the next one, "Hands Off, Viper."**


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